Climate Change is Now: Arizona town cut off from water using rain to flush toilets

 I've been studying climate change for over 20 years, and I've seen how the climate has warmed in the eastern U.S. (where I am) and all around the world. I've watched storms become more frequent and more intense. I've seen climate change influence more extremes: droughts (U.S. west) and floods. More tornadoes, stronger hurricanes and typhoons. Today's blog is an example of the drought aspect in the western U.S.  It would not surprise me to see many residents in the U.S. west to abandon their homes for lack of water within the net 5-10 years.  Here's the story of an Arizona town without water.

Arizona town cut off from water using rain to flush toilets

By Bernd Debusmann Jr, BBC News, Washington

Skipped showers and rainwater-powered toilets are among the methods an Arizona town has adopted as it battles to cope without water.

Rio Verde Foothills, a suburb of Scottsdale, was cut off from the city's water supply on 1 January.

The controversial move left hundreds without access to running water, prompting residents to file a lawsuit demanding that services be restored.

Scottsdale argues that it bears no responsibility for Rio Verde.

In a statement published on 16 January, the city of Scottsdale said that it had for years "warned and advised" Rio Verde - which is governed by nearby Maricopa County - that it could not depend on the city's water supply, particularly during periods of drought.

"The city remains firm in that position, and confident that it is on the right side of the law," the statement added.

The shut-off has left about 500 homes scrambling for solutions as the last of the Scottsdale water supply delivered to tanks in their yards dwindles.

Local residents quoted by the New York Times described flushing their toilets with rainwater, taking laundry to the homes of friends and eating from paper plates to avoid using water.

Another local resident, Dee Thomas, told Phoenix ABC affiliate KNXV that his family has been forced to use water that collects in their pool.

Locals may end up turning to a private water supplier 

"At least I can siphon that," Mr Thomas said. "We use it mostly for showering. For, you know, washing clothes, the bathroom."

A lawsuit filed on behalf of residents last week claims that Scottsdale has placed Rio Verde residents under an "unconscionable amount of stress and anxiety by discontinuing their domestic water supply".

"The lack of fresh potable water for families to be able to bathe themselves or running water to flush their toilets is a well-known basic necessity," the lawsuit added.

The city, for its part, has said that "nothing...precludes residents in Rio Verde Foothills from purchasing water from other sources."

"The water haulers who have previously hauled water from Scottsdale have access to water from other jurisdictions and are still offering to haul water to serve the homes in Rio Verde," the Scottsdale statement added.

To address the issue, a number of solutions have been proposed, including the use of a private water company to deliver water using the same pipe infrastructure used previously by Scottsdale.

Additionally, a bill recently introduced by state lawmakers would make Scottsdale financially liable for some costs created by the scarcity.

Arizona is one of 33 US states currently experiencing drought conditions, according to the US Drought Monitor.

Award Winner 3rd Year! Pets and the Afterlife 3: Spirit Dogs

 Wow!!!!  I am humbled. My book, "Pets and the Afterlife 3: Message from Spirit Dogs," by Rob Gutro, has again won a Book Authority Award for being one of the best books on Grief and Loss.

It won in 2021 and 2022 and NOW again in 2023!

2023 AWARD WINNER LIST: https://bookauthority.org/books/new-grief-ebooks?t=tcz1zk&s=award&book=B08RZG7HLZ

The book was also a #1 New Seller on Amazon!

To Get the book: https://www.amazon.com/Pets-Afterlife-Messages-Spirit-Dogs-ebook/dp/B08S76T51Q?ref_=ast_author_dp

Idiot of the Week: New Mexico Ex-GOP candidate arrested for 4 shootings at Democrats' Homes

 This week's idiot is a New Mexico GOP Politician claimed he also lost because of a "rigged" election. so he paid for mob-style hits on Democratic politicians. He took a page out of the Trump "election was rigged" Insurrection handbook. Now, fortunately, he's in jail. Here's the idiot's story.

(Photo: Credit: AP

Solomon Pena, center, a Republican candidate for New Mexico House District 14, is taken into custody by Albuquerque Police officers, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, in southwest Albuquerque, N.M. (Roberto E. Rosales/The Albuquerque Journal via AP))

Ex-GOP candidate arrested for 4 shootings at Democrats' Homes

Associated Press Jan 17, 2023

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A failed Republican candidate who authorities said was angry over his defeat and made baseless claims the election last November was “rigged” against him was arrested in connection with a series of drive-by shootings targeting the homes of Democratic lawmakers in New Mexico’s largest city.

Solomon Pena, 39, was arrested Monday evening, just hours after SWAT officers took him into custody and served search warrants at his home, police said.

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina described Pena as the “mastermind” of what he said appears to be a politically motivated conspiracy leading to shootings at the homes of two county commissioners and two state legislators between early December and early January.

No one was injured in the shootings but in one case three bullets passed through the bedroom of a state senator’s 10-year-old daughter.

Pena ran unsuccessfully in November against incumbent state Rep. Miguel P. Garcia, the longtime Democrat representing House District 14 in the South Valley. Garcia won by 48 percentage points, or roughly 3,600 votes.

After the election, police said, Pena showed up uninvited at the elected officials' homes with what he claimed were documents proving he had won his race. There was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in New Mexico in 2020 or 2022.

The shootings began shortly after those conversations.

“This type of radicalism is a threat to our nation and has made its way to our doorstep right here in Albuquerque, New Mexico," Mayor Tim Keller said. “But I know we are going to push back, and we will not allow this to cross the threshold.”

Four men conspired with Pena, who is accused of paying them cash to carry out at least two of the drive-by shootings in stolen vehicles, while Pena “pulled the trigger” during one of the crimes, Deputy Police Commander Kyle Hartsock said.

Detectives identified Pena as their key suspect using a combination of cellphone and vehicle records, witness interviews and bullet casings collected at the lawmakers’ homes, police said. His arrest came one week after Medina announced they had identified a suspect in the shootings.

A lawyer for Pena who could comment on the allegations wasn’t listed Monday night in jail records.

No one was injured in the shootings, which unfolded amid a rise in threats to members of Congress, school board members, election officials and other government workers around the nation. In Albuquerque, law enforcement has struggled to address back-to-back years of record homicides and persistent gun violence.

The shootings began Dec. 4, when eight rounds were fired at the home of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa. Days later, state Rep. Javier Martinez's home was targeted, followed by a Dec. 11 shooting at the home of Bernalillo County Commissioner Debbie O’Malley. More than a dozen rounds were fired at her home, police said.

The final related shooting, targeting state Sen. Linda Lopez's home, unfolded in the midnight hour of Jan. 3. Police said more than a dozen shots were fired and Lopez said three of the bullets passed through her 10-year-old daughter’s bedroom.

Investigators received a break in the case after technology that can detect the sound of gunfire led an officer to Lopez's neighborhood shortly after the shots were fired.

The officer found bullet casings matching a handgun found later that morning in a Nissan Maxima registered to Pena. Around 1:30 a.m., about an hour after the shooting at Lopez's home, police stopped the Nissan about 4 miles (6 kilometers) from the lawmaker's neighborhood.

The driver, identified Monday night as Jose Trujillo, was arrested on an outstanding warrant, leading to the discovery of more than 800 fentanyl pills and two firearms in the car, police said.

A criminal complaint outlining the exact charges against the former political candidate was expected to be released in the coming days. Additional arrests and charges also were expected, but police declined to elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation.

Detectives also were investigating two additional shootings they initially believed could be related to the Pena case: one in the vicinity of New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez’s former campaign office and another at state Sen. Antonio Maestas’ office. Police on Monday said the shootings do not appear to be connected.

The New Mexico Republican Party condemned Pena in a statement Monday night. “If Pena is found guilty, he must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

Hero of the Week: Bar Worker Saves Couple from Fire

This week's hero is an employee of a bar in San Francisco who noticed a building on fire and ran inside to save an older couple. Here's the story and photo.

Hero of the Week: Bar Worker Saves Couple from Fire

 Mission Local News  by CHUQIN JIANG, JANUARY 13, 2023

Josué Contreras entered a burning Mission District building in San Francisco, California to rescue an older couple who couldn't get out on their own. 

A fire broke out this evening (Jan 13, 2023) around 7 p.m. at a three-story apartment building at 3017 20th Street displacing 22 tenants including one child, according to the San Francisco Fire Department. No injuries have been reported, but at least one couple had to be helped out of their apartment.

Josue Contreras, the host at Trick Dog, a popular bar across the street from the building, said the fire started in an upper unit. He first noticed a burning smell and then saw someone come out of the building calling for help. It was the son of a couple still in the building. Contreras said that the son told him he kept trying to go up the stairs but there was too much smoke.

“I went in there and it was just smoke, smoke, smoke and at some moment I was like ‘oh, I’m going to die in here.'”

Contreras met the son on the stairway and helped with the mother. The father who was in his late 60s wanted to put on his shoes and get some papers. “So I had to drag him and pull him out,” Contreras said.

By 8 p.m. the fire was contained, but nine fire trucks remained and the tenants of the damaged building as well as the tenants from buildings of the same block were not being allowed back into their apartments.

Contreras said that given the amount of smoke, the damage was probably pretty bad. It was unclear if the elderly couple had to be treated for smoke inhalation, but Contreras said he was fine and already back at work.

(Photo: Firemen in front of the building at 3017 20th Street where a couple had to be rescued from the smoke. Photo by George Lipp)

Janis Rough, who lives nearby, said that she saw the tree behind the building burning. “I’ve never seen such a big fire before and I thought the whole block would burn out, but the firefighters came really fast and controlled it.”

The Red Cross was still on the scene at 9 p.m. offering residents help. The elderly couple rescued earlier was being attended to. The man had on only one shoe. His other foot was covered with a piece of cardboard fitted around his foot.

Jonathan Baxter, the public information officer for the fire department at the scene, said that just after 7 p.m., the department got multiple 911 calls about a fire. When they arrived on the scene, the second and third floors at 3017 20th St. were on fire. “The fire rapidly grew to a two-alarm fire bringing almost 75 firefighters to the scene,” he said. The fire extended to the multi-story building just east of 3017 20th St., he added.

Scientists Use Laser to Redirect LIghtning Bolts!

Lightning safety is something that scientists continually work on, not only for airlines, but people on the ground. Every year around the world there are a good number of lightning deaths. Lightning rods have been around for a couple of hundred years. Scientists have been researching using laser beams to open "channels" for lightning to follow, and they recently had some success, although it's expensive. Here's the research.

(photo: Using this high-powered laser on a mountain in Switzerland, physicists have finally created a guide light for lightning.TRUMPF/MARTIN STOLLBERG)

Scientists use a laser beam to control lightning bolts 

SCIENCE Magazine, Jan 16, 2023

Researchers successfully diverted lightning using a high-powered laser in the first demonstration of the technique outside a laboratory. Scientists believe the technology could eventually help control lightning strikes around airports and launchpads while potentially reducing the thousands of fatalities and $3B in damages each year resulting from the phenomenon.

THE LASER BEAM TEST Traditional metal lightning rods only cover an area as wide as the rod is tall, limiting their application on large sites. To test covering a wider area, the researchers created a virtual lightning rod using a laser pulsing 1,000 times per second near a 400-foot tower in Switzerland. During storms in the summer of 2021, the laser's rapid beams heated a path of charged air near the tower, ultimately steering four lightning strikes through the ionized channel over six hours (see images). Read how it works here.

LIGHTNING OCCURS Lightning occurs when static electricity builds up in storm clouds and begins to break down the surrounding air molecules. Paths of electrically weakened air spread like cracks in a car windshield. Once one such path reaches something on the ground or connects with other paths climbing from the surface, 30,000 amps of current gush through the jagged channel in a massive discharge that can blast a hole in a building and set it ablaze.

HOW A LIGHTNING ROD WORKS To help prevent such damage, people rely on a technology invented in 1752 by American polymath Benjamin Franklin: the lightning rod. Consisting of a pointed metal rod attached to a building’s roof and connected to the ground by a wire, the rod creates a strong electric field that draws lightning away from the building. When the rod is hit, the wire safely ushers current to the ground.

HOW THE LASER WOULD WORK The laser light ionizes some air, which then works like a lens to further focus the light into a long “filament” the width of a hair. The thin beam heats the air, driving away molecules and leaving a channel of lower density air, which better conducts electricity.It works at least in laboratory experiments.

TRIALS Efforts to control natural lightning in New Mexico in 2004 and Singapore in 2011 still failed to influence the paths of bolts. Now, scientists have succeeded. They placed a femtosecond laser atop Säntis mountain in northeastern Switzerland next to a 124-meter-tall telecommunications tower. Like a giant lightning rod, the tower gets hit with lightning more than 100 times a year. The researchers shined their laser past the top of the tower from July to September 2021 during a total of more than 6 hours of thunderstorms.

SUCCESS IN SWITZERLAND In all four lightning strikes taken with the laser on, the lightning followed the path of the laser beam before jumping to the tower, the 28-member team reports today in Nature Photonics. Thus, researchers steered about the last 50 meters of each bolt’s otherwise random trajectory. The result is the culmination of a 5-year, €4 million European project.

A LOT TO PUT IT TOGETHER - AND IT IS EXPENSIVE To make it work, researchers had to disassemble their delicate laser, take it up the mountain piece by piece in a gondola, and enlist Switzerland’s biggest helicopter to assemble a building to house it. But can a $2 million laser compete with a dirt-cheap lightning rod?

In the News! First-Ever Honeybee Vaccine

Honeybees are critical for pollenating plants and disease has been drastically reducing their numbers. Now, scientists have developed a "vaccine" of sorts to help them. Here's the story.

WHY BEES ARE IMPORTANT TO CROPS: The USDA says:  Beehives are often important elements of urban gardens due to the pollination services they provide. They’re also big business. Honeybees pollinate $15 billion worth of crops in the United States each year, including more than 130 types of fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Honeybees also produce honey, worth about $3.2 million in 2017 according to USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

The first-ever vaccine for honeybees has been approved by the USDA

1440 News Jan 9,2023

US officials have granted conditional approval to a vaccine meant to protect honeybees against a fatal bacteria known to jump easily between hives, wiping out entire colonies as it spreads. It is the first time a vaccine for insects has been approved in the US.    Honeybees are one of the most important pollinating insects, playing a critical role in natural ecosystems and supporting at least $15B in US agricultural production each year. Populations have seen steep declines in recent years, with highly infectious pathogens among a number of causes. The new vaccine targets the bacteria responsible for American foulbrood, a disease that attacks larvae and can lead to colony death within weeks of infection—the typical defense against transmission is to burn diseased colonies.    Instead of treating individual bees, the vaccine is delivered to the queen in a sugar mixture, which prompts an immune response in her offspring. Researchers hope to extend the approach to other insect-related diseases.

News to make you laugh:; Saturday Night Live Weekend Update.

 Since most of the news we watch or listen to is depressing, I thought I'd share some that would make you laugh. Here's the Saturday Night Live Weekend Update where anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like a 118-year-old nun dying.

VIDEO LINK:  https://youtu.be/Rg5QyBK7AnU 

New Member Of Congress took Oath with First-Edition Superman Comic

 Here's a politician I can relate to - This new member of Congress from California learned English by reading Superman comics. I grew up reading Superman and other comics and was inspired to read and write stories and draw, too. Here's the story about Robert Garcia and how he's recognizing how Superman comics helped him learn English-  

A New Member Of Congress Explained Why He’ll Swear His Oath Of Office On The US Constitution With A First-Edition Superman Comic

“I learned to read and write English reading comics as a kid. Never stopped reading,” Rep.-elect Robert Garcia told BuzzFeed News.

BuzzFeed News Jan 5, 2023

Rep.-elect Robert Garcia speaks during a news conference in Washington, DC, on Nov. 13, 2022.

Like any other lawmaker, Rep.-elect Robert Garcia will swear his oath of office on a foundational text. He chose the US Constitution over the Bible or another religious book, and when the time comes, he’ll also take his oath with three sentimental items, including the first edition comic of Superman.

“I've read almost all genres, but Superman is always the character that stood out and spoke to me the most,” Garcia, a Democrat from California, told BuzzFeed News on Wednesday.

Reporters on Tuesday spotted the vintage comic book among the items laid out in the House of Representatives in preparation of the swearing-in of newly elected members. In a tweet, Garcia, who describes himself as a comic book nerd in his Twitter bio, acknowledged it was for him. He said he will be sworn in to Congress with the Constitution as well as a photograph of his parents, who both died during the pandemic; his naturalization paperwork from when he became a US citizen; and the first edition of Superman, which he borrowed from the Library of Congress.

Twitter: @RobertGarcia “Will be proudly sworn-in to Congress on the U.S. Constitution. Underneath the Constitution will be 3 items that mean a lot to me personally. A photo of my parents who I lost to covid, my citizenship certificate & an original Superman #1 from the @librarycongress. 🇺🇸😊”

Public servants often get symbolic as they consider how they’ll take their oath. President Joe Biden used a Bible that has been in his family for generations, and Vice President Kamala Harris swore on two books: a Bible that belonged to a woman she considered a mother figure, as well as a Bible once owned by Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court justice. Garcia explained to BuzzFeed News the significant role that comic books and superheroes had on him growing up as an immigrant.

“I learned to read and write English reading comics as a kid. Never stopped reading,” he said.

Garcia, who moved to the US from Peru, said that the values he grew up with while reading Superman are ones that he brings with him into his adult life and his new job.

“I grew up mostly reading Superman comics, you know, truth and justice, an immigrant that was different, was raised by good people that welcomed them and always someone that if you look at Superman values, and caucus values, it's about justice, it's about honesty, it's doing the right thing, standing up for people that need support.

Prior to being elected to Congress, Garcia served eight years as mayor of Long Beach, California.

UK weather: 2022 was warmest year ever, Met Office confirms

  The world continues to warm, and create temperature and weather extreme events- and the scientists in the United Kingdom just issued their report on the year 2022. It was the warmest year there ever recorded. Here's the story.

UK weather: 2022 was warmest year ever, Met Office confirms

BBC NEWS  Jan 6, 2023

Last year was the UK's warmest year on record, the Met Office has confirmed.

The average annual temperature in 2022 was more than 10C (18 Degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time, the national weather service said.

The mean temperature across the 12 months was 10.03C (50.54F) - topping the previous all-time high of 9.88C (49.7F) in 2014.  (Mean temperature is the daytime high and night time low temperature of the day divided by 2) 

It means 15 of the UK's top 20 warmest years on record have all occurred this century - with the entire top 10 within the past two decades.

Dr Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office National Climate Information Centre, said: "Although an arbitrary number, the UK surpassing an annual average temperature of 10C is a notable moment in our climatological history. "This moment comes as no surprise, since 1884 all the 10 years recording the highest annual temperature have occurred from 2003. "It is clear from the observational record that human-induced global warming is already impacting the UK's climate."

All four nations set records for heat in 2022, with England seeing the highest average temperature at 10.94C, followed by Wales (10.23C), Northern Ireland (9.85C) and Scotland (8.50C).

A spell of heatwaves in June 2022 led to the UK experiencing its fourth warmest summer on record - and temperatures broke the 40C mark for the first time, leading the Met Office to issue its first-ever red warning for extreme heat.

The record of 40.3C was recorded at Coningsby in Lincolnshire on 19 July.

The hot summer and months of low rainfall also dried up rivers, damaged crops and fuelled wildfires, with an official drought declared in large parts of England.

The Met Office said that a UK mean temperature of 10C would have been expected once in 500 years in a natural climate - before humans started producing the emissions responsible for climate change with activities such as burning fossil fuels. But it said this was now likely to occur every three to four years.

It isn't just the UK that is feeling the heat.

We'll get the figures for global average temperatures next week and last year is expected to have been the fourth or fifth hottest year on record. And this year is expected to be even hotter worldwide.

That is not just because greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, it is also because we are expecting a change in a weather system in the tropical Pacific, known as the El Nino.

Last year it was in a cooling phase - La Nina - but this year it will switch into its warming phase, with unusually warm water off the coast of South America.

This typically drives up average global temperatures. A recent report on climate extremes in the UK found that recent years have seen both higher maximum temperatures and longer warm spells.

That trend is predicted to continue. It is possible that by 2100, the UK could see 40C days every three to four years.

By this point, the Met Office said - with medium levels of greenhouse gas emissions - the 10C average temperature could occur almost every year.

Idiot of the Week: A guy actually known as "Baked Alaska" and Insurrectionist

This week's idiot is known as "Baked Alaska" and he's a right-wing "influencer." Sounds like his thinking is half-baked. Here's the story of this week's idiot and insurrectionist. He was arrested in 2021.  Hope he enjoys prison.

Far-right influencer Baked Alaska sentenced for his role in Capitol riot

BBC News, January 10, 2023

Anthime Gionet, better known by his nickname "Baked Alaska", pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour charge of unlawfully demonstrating inside the Capitol on 6 January 2021.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of six months behind bars.

Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 75 days in jail.

Gionet grew up in Alaska - his nickname is a reference to his birthplace and his love of marijuana - and worked for a record company and news site Buzzfeed before becoming a prominent alt-right influencer.

He became known for live streaming and grew his social media audience through a variety of racist and anti-Semitic posts and stunts, often involving harassing and insulting bystanders.

He was present at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, and was later arrested for defacing a Hanukkah display and pepper spraying a security guard.

On 6 January 2021, he livestreamed the Capitol attack and entered the building, at one point shouting "Occupy the Capitol, let's go!" and "We are the kraken! Unleash the kraken!"

He was also shown swearing at a Capitol police officer. Prosecutors later said that the footage he took was helpful in identifying others who were involved in the riot.

Gionet's Twitter account, with more than 120,000 followers, had been banned shortly after the Capitol riot but was reinstated last month. He's since used his account to plead for the reinstatement of other white nationalist and extremist figures.

Prior to the sentencing he tweeted saying that he has "learned a lot" since the Capitol riot and "grown to be a better person".

Gionet was also one of the subjects of documentary-maker Louis Theroux's BBC series Forbidden America, broadcast last year. During the filming of the show he started swearing and ranting at the journalist when questioned about his beliefs.

Hero of the Week: Dolly Parton Expands Imagination Library To California

 Dolly Parton has been my hero since I first heard her music when I was a teenager. Her optimism, care for others, sense of humor, singing, acting, and appreciation for little things are all things I admire about her. In her home of Tennessee's Smoky Mountains, she started a program that provides children under 5 years old a free book a month, paid through her Dollywood Foundation. That program, Imagination Library, expanded far beyond the Smokies - to several foreign countries, and is still expanding in the U.S. and abroad. Now, California is benefitting. Here's the story.

Dolly Parton Expands Imagination Library To California

KIX CountryNews 12-30-22 

Country queen, and self-proclaimed "book lady," Dolly Parton has recently expanded her Imagination Library to California! According to The Office of the Governor of California, a free book will be mailed to children under five years old whose parents choose to enroll them in the program. Those who partake in the Imagination Library will not have to pay for the books that come in the mail each month. Parton was initially inspired to start the Imagination Library because her father was unable to read and write.

The Office of the Governor of California took to Twitter to announce the wonderful new expansion, and to detail those that will directly benefit by enrolling in the program. Parton even appeared in the video to introduce the beginning of the exciting new "chapter."  (Click This Link for Twitter Announcement) 

"Starting in June 2023, every California child under the age of 5 will be able to receive a free book in the mail, every month, thanks to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library expansion to California," the post read. By expanding the Imagination Library to California, Parton is offering 2.4 million children the opportunity to dive into a world of books and further their knowledge of reading and writing at no cost.

VIDEO BELOW: HOW THE WHOLE PROCESS WORKS! - it's really interesting. It's a LOT of planning and coordinating that takes about 6 months.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/IjxcK1ZZw3c

Good Trade Collection: Showcase Presents Batman and the Outsiders Volume 1 DC 2007

 As an avid DC comics comic book reader, I've also loved Batman. In 1983, Batman quit the Justice League because a friend of his was captured in the war-torn country of Moldavia (not a real country) and the League agreed to stay out of the country because of politics. Batman decided he would rescue his friend without the league and formed his own league of heroes- some of them not known before. In DC Showcase Presents "Batman and the Outsiders: Vol. 1  - the first 19 issues of that series are reprinted.

The new team includes a couple of known heroes, such as Black Lightning, Metamorpho the element man and Katana, the Japanese sword expert. It also includes new heroes created for the series: GeoForce and Halo.  The series was written by Mike Barr and illustrated by famed Batman illustrator, Jim Aparo. 

I had never read the series in the 1980s because I was in college and couldn't afford comics anymore, so I stopped reading them. I'm glad I found this reprinted volume (it's a lot cheaper than buying 19 classic comics). 

I enjoyed the mystery around the unknown background of the female hero, Halo- who can manipulate light in the form of "halos" of various colors with different properties, and the new Geo-force character, a prince of the country of Markovia imbued by science with powers over earth and gravity.  

The entire collection was well done, except for the last couple of issues, which I didn't care for- that took the group back into ancient Egypt, and mysteriously, everyone spoke English, even the ancient Egyptians. There was no reference to how they understood each other, so that whole storyline lost me. Otherwise, it was a fun collection to read!

Archaeology: Temple of Zeus to be restored to its former glory in SW Turkey

Archaeology is always fascinating, and even moreso to me when scientists uncover ancient structures tied to Greek or Roman Gods. Recently, the Temple of the Greek God, Zeus was discovered!  Here's the story and video!  

(Photo: Zeus' Temple. Credit: AA

Temple of Zeus to be restored to its former glory in SW Turkey

 Anadolu Agency, Mar. 18, 2021

A recent dig by archaeologists has unearthed Zeus’s God temple that has been undisturbed for thousands of years. 

The reparation work being carried out on the Temple of Zeus in the ancient city of Euromos in southwestern Muğla province is being meticulously executed by a Turkish excavation team. Once complete, the temple will be restored to its former glory and become one of Turkey's most visited sites, head of the excavation team Abuzer Kızıl said.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Kızıl, an archaeologist at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, said that the team had uncovered artifacts in the excavations of Euromos and hope to uncover more historical remains. The excavations were launched in 2011.

Noting the cleaning, drilling, mapping and excavation work carried out on the ancient city's temple, agora, theater, bath and city walls in recent years, he said Eurosmos' location makes it "among the luckiest ancient cities of Anatolia."

The archaeologist said that Euromos is one of the important cities of Caria – the ancient name for the southwestern region of Anatolia's Aegean shores – adding that important plans are in the works for the city's temple.

He highlighted that the temple, built to honor the ancient Greek god Zeus, is one of the best-preserved in all of Turkish Anatolia. Kızıl said they initially began with a partial excavation before cleaning the inside of the temple and documenting the area, preparing the project for a significant restoration. 

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/ieZT_9ard5U

  

Part 2: Photos: Christmas Wolf Scares Up the So.Baltimore Holiday Lights Walk

 In part 2 of our south Baltimore Holiday lights walk, we encountered some creative displays from residents who loved their Halloween decorations so much, they incorporated them into Christmas. One of them was a 25-foot animated werewolf decorated for Christmas that gave us a start! Today's blog has those pictures and other displays from the Federal Hill neighborhood of Baltimore  (you don't have to go to Baltimore's 34th street- the lights are awesome right here in Federal Hill). 

(Photo: Freaked out by the animated Christmas werewolf- Steve, Jane, Tom and Rob. Cr: RG)

(Photo: The talking, massive animatronic Christmas Werewolf! Cr: RG)

(Photo:  A non-scary Christmas display of holiday dogs. Cr: RG) 

(Photo: So many streets were lit up! Cr: RG) 

(Photo: Here's a street that covered the houses, trees and even strung up lights from one side of the street to the other! Beautiful! Cr: RG)  

Part 1: Photos: Our Annual So.Baltimore Holiday Lights Walk & the SoBoPost!

One of our holiday traditions has become a walk around south Baltimore's Federal Hill neighborhood to see the Christmas lights. Our friends Steve and Jane - South Baltimore's Penninsula Post newspaper founder and editors put together this walking tour and armed with hot cider and hot cocoa - it's a treat.  This year, it was really awesome because the temperatures were mild and the lights were awesome. This is Part 1 of 2, and in addition to cool photos, you'll learn about this awesome free newspaper that keeps residents informed. 

(Photo: Jane, Tom, Steve, Rob at the walk kick-off) 

ABOUT THE NEWSPAPER:  The South Baltimore Peninsula Post started in the spring of 2020 as a way for the communities between Fort McHenry and Camden Yards to interact during the enforced isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, the Peninsula Post blog and social media accounts created by local resident Steve Cole were joined by a free community newspaper edition that began regular bimonthly publication in August 2021. The Peninsula Post has also sponsored several socially distanced community events including a sidewalk chalk festival and scavenger hunt.

(Photo: A street lit up for an entire block!) 

 

In April 2021, all of this community activity was formally organized into South Baltimore United, Inc., a tax-exempt nonstock corporation established under the laws of the State of Maryland. South Baltimore United is now a 501(c)(c3) nonprofit devoted to promoting community awareness and engagement among the residents of the many neighborhoods of South Baltimore by distributing news and information about this diverse community and sponsoring public events that bring the community together.

 (Photo: Christmas dogs display in Federal Hill. Cr: R.G) 

Steve continues to devote much of his post-career time to the Peninsula Post, serving as Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper and President of South Baltimore United. After a 30-plus-year career in one form of publishing or another – from promoting climate and space science for NASA to magazine editing, curating local Facebook groups (Cross Street Market Community, Federal Hill United), and wrestling with the Baltimore Museum of Industry’s 1936 Linotype typecasting machine – he apparently doesn’t know how to stop.

(Photo: Snoopy, Woodstock and a beautiful Christmas tree in the window behind. Cr: R.G)

Mailing address: 145 W. Ostend St., Suite 600, Baltimore, MD 21230

Email: hello@sobopost.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoBoPeninsulaPost

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sobopeninsulapost/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SBmorePost

NEXT: THE CHRISTMAS WOLF SCARES THE GROUP! 

Fascinating book: After by Bruce Greyson, MD - exploring Near Death Experiences

Dr. Bruce Greyson has been studying and interviewing people who have reported near-death experiences for over 40 years. He recently published a book about them called "After": A Doctor Explores what near-death experiences reveal about life and beyond."  - It's a fascinating read and you'll be captivated by people's experiences.

At the end of the book, he goes over 7 takeaways from people who had "NDE experiences" - and how they affected the people who returned from death in various ways. Read the book. 

Most NDE experiences were very positive in changing the way people viewed life and they treated others much better. A few wallowed in sadness. For the most part, though, people reported similar things - peace, calmness, seeing themselves outside of their body and looking at it, some even seeing and describing living people in other places at the time of their NDE (which wouldn't be possible if they didn't leave their bodies). 

The majority of people who reported NDEs refer to "hearing" or "feeling a presence." - Only those who were very religious and had a pre-conceived expectation of the other side called the presence "God," but couldn't describe it. However, most other NDE patients didn't call it "God" They described it as a positive, calming, energy of love and peace. 

One of the takeaways here is that the mind and the brain are not the same. Dr. Greyson makes a good case for this, and I'm in total agreement. I've met several people who have experienced NDEs, and their experiences are similar to others cited in this book. 

This is a MUST READ.

Idiot of the Week: Florida's Cory Mills Jokes about Attack on an 82 Year Old Man

If you know anyone in your circle of friends who would make light of physical attack on an 82 year old man, you may think of them is being cruel and idiotic. Well, here's a guy that is newly elected to Congress in Florida who did just that. Now this country is stuck with this week's idiot for years.  

NEW FLORIDA GOP REP JOKES ABOUT ATTACK ON PAUL PELOSI 

Rep. Cory Mills tweeted a shocking joke about the vicious home invasion beating of 82-year-old Paul Pelosi, husband of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) The ugly tweet was apparently Mills’ version of a celebration of McCarthy's ascendency to House speaker.  

   "Finally, one less gavel in the Pelosi house for Paul to fight with in his underwear,” wrote Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) on Saturday, January 8, 2023.

 The ugly tweet was apparently Mills’ version of a celebration of the ascendency to House speaker of Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

Mills was also making fun of the brutal attack on Paul Pelosi, who was beaten with a hammer in the middle of the night last October, allegedly by a violent Republican sympathizer out to get a list of Democratic targets.