From Oregon to South Carolina, the solar eclipse taking place on Aug. 21 will track southeast, inspiring travel operators along its route to celebrate the nearly two-minute syzygy — or alignment of the sun, moon and earth.
In the Willamette Valley of Oregon, Brooks Winery plans to hold a Solar Eclipse Party, including an outdoor yoga class, brunch and a tasting of its new sparkling riesling in anticipation of the total eclipse passing over the vineyard around 10:30 a.m.
The eclipse will peak in Perryville, Mo., about 80 miles south of St. Louis, just after 1 p.m. Buses will shuttle guests of host hotels in St. Louis, including the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel (from $109), to an eclipse watch for $25 a person.
As the shadow passes over Nashville, guests of the Union Station Hotel Nashville can attend a champagne viewing party on the veranda with special glasses for watching the eclipse and other amenities provided (rates from $478.21 a night with a two-night minimum stay).
In Charleston, S.C., the King Charles Inn will hold a lunch lecture by an astrophysicist and a viewing party aboard a tall ship in Charleston Harbor (rates from $397 a night with a three-night minimum). The HarbourView Inn will hold a rooftop viewing party with an astronomer on hand to answer questions (rooms from $532).
If hotels on the route are hard to find, or inflated, consider camping. A six-day rafting trip departing on Aug. 18 from Mountain Travel Sobek on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho will coincide with the eclipse (rates from $1,995 a person). A seven-day rafting trip on the Main Salmon River in Idaho with OARS, departing Aug. 15, will feature a guest astronomer (rates from $2,682 a person).
Apparently, the first day of Donald Trump’s new immigrant crime hotline went amazingly — just not in the way the Trump administration had probably hoped.
The Victims of Immigrant Crime Engagement Office(VOICE), established to assist victims of crimes committed by “removable criminal aliens,” was reportedly prank-called all day by protesters claiming to have been abused by E.T., Jabba the Hutt, and other notorious creatures from outer space.
The trend was first noticed by Robbie Gramer, a writer for Foreign Policy.
“I swore an oath to defend my community and uphold the Constitution,” McCoy says. “I see speaking out as a way of continuing to fulfill my oath and standing behind the immigrant community that is under attack.”
McCoy, who explains that he finds the term “aliens” intentionally dehumanizing, called the hotline and — after waiting on hold for 20 minutes — was asked if he was calling to report a crime by an “illegal alien.”
He told the operator that he’d been abducted and taken to a UFO.
“I heard them give a long sigh,” he says. “And they closed out the conversation saying that they’d make a note of it.”
Critics of VOICE allege that it unfairly demonizes immigrants — singling them out for suspicion based on their status.
The office was announced during Trump’s February address to Congressduring a tribute to four guests whose family members were killed by undocumented immigrants.
Two recent studies conducted by The Sentencing Project, a criminal justice reform organization, and the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, found that immigrants — whether documented or undocumented — commit crimes at lower rates than native-born residents.
An ICE official told Upworthy that the VOICE office is intended to provide information to crime victims, does not receive crime reports, and that he considers the protest a “shameful” stunt at victims’ expense.
After McCoy’s tweet went mini-viral, other prank-tivists began calling in, adding their own spin.
Michigan resident Lisa Polmanteer used her time on the phone with a VOICE representative to troll Melania Trump — claiming to have been “victimized” by an immigrant living off her tax dollars in New York City.
According to Polmanteer, the operator asked if she was talking about the first lady. When she said yes, he hung up.
Others on Twitter suggested an entirely different, punny approach.
While the prank was undoubtedly silly, its message was incredibly serious.
“I feel like the administration is going to use these stories to further demonize immigrants [and] refugees,” Polmanteer says. “My grandparents were immigrants. I take it personally, I guess.”
McCoy hopes the protest will move participants to support the efforts of immigrant rights groups, like United We Dream, Presente, Mijente, and the DRM Action Coalition, who have been, as he says, “fighting this fight much longer than I have.”
He also hopes people will continue to take action against attempts to stigmatize those who come to the U.S. seeking a better life.
For now, that means fighting efforts like VOICE — even if it means being a little annoying.
Or especially if it means being a little annoying.
“I feel like the only thing I can do about it is be disruptive.” Polmanteer says. [I’m] feeling pretty overwhelmed and powerless, you know? So I’m a jerk wherever I can be.”
A car parked in a driveway — that was true of housing in the 1950s, but it’s still true of many boomer houses today. And that’s a problem. (Photo: George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images)
The oldest boomers are now just 68. But there are 78 million of them, and as they get older, the impact on suburbia will be profound. More and more of municipalities’ taxes will be going to support them instead of schools and parks — Why? Because they vote a lot — while property values, and the tax base will decline as whole neighborhoods turn into senior citizens districts, with old Saturns rusting in the driveway like at my mother-in-law’s house. Transit costs will go through the roof as seniors demand services in low-density areas that cannot support it. The fact is, there is a major urban planning disaster staring us all in the face, which is going to seriously hit everyone young and old in about 10 years when the oldest boomers are 78. We have to prepare for it now.
My mother-in-law’s house with that rusting Saturn in the driveway. (Photo: Google Maps)
So what has happened since? Not much. Over at CityLab they revisit the story and find that baby boomers are mostly staying put right now, hoping house prices will continue to rise. Many are still “under water” with houses worth less than their mortgages, or just treading water, where the house won’t sell for enough to retire on. So right now they’re thinking about renovating. Arthur C. Nelson, who predicted the Great Senior Sell-off, says it’s still coming, but later, in the mid to late 2020s.
“It’s not that Boomers are going to ‘age in place’,” says Nelson. “They’re going to be stuck in place, and they’re going to make the best of it.” Those who can afford it will remodel.
Boomers are renovating more, moving less. (Photo: Joint Center for Housing Studies)
This is more in line with my understanding of the demographic; it will start getting messy when the boomers start hitting their late 70s. At some point, they’re not going to have a choice but to sell. That also just might coincide with when the millennials’ kids are getting too big for the apartment and they’re ready to move to the suburbs. The timing might just work out and avoid the urban planning disaster I’ve predicted.
On the other hand, there may well be a mismatch between what the boomers are selling and what millennials are buying. Jennifer Molinsky of Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies tells CityLab:
“Millennials are likely to prioritize different features in their homes, such as greener materials or in-law suites,” says Molinsky. And according to the Harvard Joint Center’s projections, nearly 90 percent of those looking for homes in 2035 will be under 35 or 70 and over — and both groups tend to buy less square footage.
Yogi Berra was right when he said “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” But there’s one thing we know for certain: There are 78 million baby boomers who are getting old fast, and what they do (and how they vote) pretty much drives every issue from housing to health care . Many are confused about what they want (Read: Study confirms that boomers are clueless) and are not prepared for what happens when boomers turn into seniors. Sara Joy Proppe looks at the problem in Strong Towns, after telling a story of giving a lift to a senior:
This story reflects the isolation felt among many of our senior population as they maneuver the built environment. By designing our cities for cars, and consequently neglecting our sidewalks, we have siloed our elders in several ways. Not only does an inability to drive confine many seniors to their homes, but corresponding busy roads and inhumane streetscapes add to the isolating effect by also limiting walkability.
We’re sentencing literally tens of millions of people to this fate if we don’t start planning for this now.
Ed Werner, Trent Dilfer and Danny KanellGetty Images
The feared day is here for many in Bristol.
ESPN president John Skipper sent out a memo to employees Wednesday morning alerting them that 100 employees will be laid off. Around half of those receiving pink slips are well known, according to James Miller, author of the ESPN behind-the-scenes book “These Guys Have All the Fun.”
The layoffs were expected for months, but according to Miller, some are still in shock as they are notified they are among the ones being let go.
Ed Werder, a prominent on-camera NFL reporter, shared on Twitter that he was fired.
Former “First Take” host Jay Crawford is leaving, along with fellow “SportsCenter” anchors Jaymee Sire, Jade McCarthy, Darren Haynes and Chris Hassel, college basketball analyst Len Elmore, golf voice Dottie Pepper and ESPN Radio host Robin Lundberg. In addition, anchor Hannah Storm, “Baseball Tonight” host Karl Ravech and ESPN Radio’s Ryen Russillo (who is Kanell’s co-host) will have their roles “significantly reduced,” a source told The Hollywood Reporter.
Other journalists who revealed they have been let go include: columnists Johnette Howard and Jane McManus; baseball reporters Jim Bowden, Doug Padilla and Mark Saxon; basketball reporters Ethan Strauss, Calvin Watkins and Justin Verrier; hockey reporters Pierre LeBrun, Scott Burnside and Joe McDonald; college reporters Dana O’Neil, Brett McMurphy, Eamonn Brennan, Chantel Jennings, Jeremy Crabtree, Max Olson, C.L. Brown, Austin Ward and Jesse Temple; and soccer reporter Mike L. Goodman.
Modal TriggerESPN president John SkipperGetty Images
“This could be a bloodbath,” a source told the Sporting News earlier this week, and it appears that prediction has come true.
In a press release titled “ESPN’s content evolution strategy,” the company appeared to acknowledge how cord-cutting and technological shifts have undermined the cable-TV-first business model. “Given how fans’ habits are changing, our focus continues to be providing high-quality, distinctive content at any minute of the day on any screen,” the release said.
“These decisions impact talented people who have done great work for our company,” the statement read in part. “I would like to thank all of them for their efforts and their many contributions to ESPN.”
Why spend so much time stressing about menu planning and cleaning when none of it really matters? The focus should be on having a good time with friends.
This past weekend, my husband and I had some friends over to play a board game. At the last minute, we decided to make it dinner, too, which meant we had only a couple hours to pull it together (and a bunch of kids to feed and put to bed). Usually I plan my dinner parties days in advance, so this was definitely outside my comfort zone.
I did not have a menu. I resisted washing the floor. I didn’t fret over stray toys. Instead, we cooked larger amounts of the same simple meal we were planning to eat ourselves. Our guests brought several bottles of red wine. I ignored the fine china, handed out rumpled cloth napkins, and we ate, drank, and played Settlers of Catan until 1 a.m. It was so easy and fun that my husband and I both looked at each other after the guests left and said, “We have to do that more often!”
The experience has reminded me of the importance of relaxing when it comes to entertaining. This is something that other cultures, particularly Europeans, understand well. I have wonderful memories of lazy, languorous meals spent in the company of wine, food, and good friends in Sardinia, Croatia, France, Israel, and Brazil; and yet, I struggle to replicate it here in Canada. I worry that my guests expect something formal, elaborate, and impeccably executed, even though I know that’s silly.
I love the idea of the ‘Crappy Dinner Party,’ as described by Kelley Powell in an article for The Kitchn. Powell is an exhausted working parent who used to feel tremendous stress prior to a guest’s arrival, until she decided to let it all go. Now she hosts friends without stressing about cleaning, cooking, and organizing. Her ‘crappy’ dinner parties follow these rules, which her guests also understand:
No housework is to be done prior to a guest’s arrival.
The menu must be simple and not involve a special grocery shop.
You must wear whatever you happen to have on.
No hostess gifts allowed.
You see, as soon as you remove the fluff – all those extra stressors that make entertaining so intimidating – you get a completely different view of it. The experience becomes focused on being with people you like. Yes, the food needs to be good, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. There’s got to be enough wine, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. Music should be playing, but no one’s really listening.
I won’t practice all of Powell’s rules on a regular basis, since I do like putting on a clean shirt, but I’ll embrace her philosophy of relaxed entertaining with open arms. I hope it leads to many more laid-back nights with good friends this summer.
In the early hours of April 24, 2017, the first of four Confederate monuments in New Orleans was dismantled — to the delight of some and anger of others.
In 2015, the New Orleans City Council voted 6-1 to remove four of the city’s Confederate monuments. Just months after Dylann Roof murdered nine people inside a Charleston, South Carolina, church, many in the South began the process of reconsidering what place Confederate flags and monuments have in modern society.
New Orleans voted to remove its public monuments.
Pretty intense argument has broken out at Liberty Place. People in crowd start chanting ‘there was no vote.’
The first monument taken down was the Liberty Place monument — a statue honoring the Crescent City White League’s attempt to overthrow New Orleans’ government after the Civil War.
Workers dismantle the Liberty Place monument. Photo by Gerald Herbert/AP.
From 1934 until 1981, when the inscription was covered up, the statue shared an endorsement of white supremacy:
“McEnery and Penn having been elected governor and lieutenant-governor by the white people were duly installed by this overthrow of carpetbag government, ousting the usurpers, Governor Kellogg (white) and Lieutenant-Governor Antoine (colored). United States troops took over the state government and reinstated the usurpers but the national election of November 1876 recognized white supremacy in the South and gave us our state.”
Landrieu on Liberty Place monument: The monument was put up to celebrate the murder of police officers by white supremacists.
You’d think that dismantling a literal monument to white supremacy would be something most people could agree on. You’d be wrong.
Workers taking down the monument faced threats of violence from those intent on preserving it and had to sneak in to dismantle it in the dead of night, guarded by snipers and wearing bulletproof vests and military-style helmets.
Removal of the first Confederate monument begins in New Orleans: updates
Efforts to remove four Confederate monuments commenced early April 24, as crews and police surrounded the Liberty Place monument downtown around 2 a.m.
A common argument in favor of protecting the Confederate-era monuments is that removing them would be a form of “erasing history.”
New Orleans takes down prominent Confederate monument
New Orleans removed the first of four prominent Confederate monuments under the cover of darkness early Monday, the latest Southern city to sever itself from symbols viewed by many as a representat…
And others made a bizarre argument about the removal of the monument being about “Marxism.”
Dana Farley of New Orleans stands vigil at the statue of Jefferson Davis. Photo by Gerald Herbert/AP.
But taking down these monuments doesn’t mean forgetting the Confederacy’s role in American history.
Nobody is going to forget the Confederacy anytime soon — especially not those whose ancestors were harmed by it — and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who argues that artifacts from the Civil War shouldn’t be displayed in proper context within museums.
Yes, some monuments simply mark a historical event or person; but others outright celebrate them, and it can be a very thin line between the two. Perhaps there’s a better way to remember significant moments in history without celebrating those who fought to preserve the institution of slavery.
In 2016, The Atlantic reported that there are around 1,500 Confederate monuments around the U.S. — many of these monuments located in regions of the country that weren’t even a part of the Confederacy. Statues of Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and P.G.T. Beauregard pepper the country.
On Twitter, people chimed in with some suggestions for what we can honor in place of these monuments without forgetting or erasing our Civil War history.
For every Confederate monument we should commission 5 statues of the black people that wanted said person gone
History is what happens, and it should never, ever be forgotten. Monuments come after, and they don’t always get it right.
Remembering the Civil War doesn’t mean we must pay tribute to those who took arms against the state, and it certainly doesn’t mean we must (or even should) preserve literal monuments to white supremacy and racism — especially in a city with a majority people-of-color population.
Workers dismantle the Liberty Place monument. Photo by Gerald Herbert/AP.
The real question here — which is sure to bring out strong emotions on all sides of this issue — is about what we build next. Do we take a critical look at our past to inform ourselves how to live better today, or do we devote time and energy and emotion to uncritical protection of vanity monuments that only divide us further?
All around the world, communities are starting to speak out against the senseless “mass aerial litter” created by balloons.
Residents of Rhode Island have joined in the call to ban balloon releases for environmental reasons. After picking up nearly 2,200 downed balloons along the coastline in the past several years, the Clean Ocean Access group is petitioning the city of Newport to stop allowing the practice altogether. While a floating mass of colorful balloons may look beautiful and celebratory for a few short minutes, it can be deadly for wildlife for many years to come.
Contrary to what manufacturers claim, latex balloons are not biodegradable. Balloons may break up into smaller pieces over time, but, with the addition of chemical plasticizers and artificial dyes, they never fully biodegrade. Anti-balloon group Balloons Blow has a photo gallery of deflated latex balloons that have ended up as pollution on land or in water, where they threaten wildlife by looking dangerously like food.
“Sea turtles mistake them for jellyfish and ingest them and die. They are made of plastic and take a long time to degrade, likely breaking into small pieces of plastic, absorbing toxins, [getting] ingested by fish, and leading to bio accumulation. Besides the balloon itself, the ribbons are also made of plastic and lead to entanglement of seabirds, and become entangled with seaweed.”
Britain’s Marine Conservation Society says it found 53 percent more balloon-related litter on beaches in 2016 than a year earlier.
The Rhode Island petition comes on the heels of Atlantic City’s new ban on outdoor balloon releases. People will face fines of up to $500 for releasing a helium balloon into the air, a move that PETA has praised. Last year, Gibraltar also made international headlines for ending its famous annual release of 300,000 red and white balloons to mark independence. As Matt Hickman wrote for MNN at the time, “At the end of the day, joyous littering is still littering.”
Rob Macmillan, co-founder of 11th Hour Racing who has spent the last decade sailing off the Rhode Island coast, told ABC6 News:
“It’s incredibly depressing. You’ll be sailing along and you’ll just see plastic balloons floating everywhere. And, you’ve got to imagine that the sea life that encounters them are just ingesting them and dying, or it’s getting into our own food supply.”
It’s an issue we should all be aware of, and a particularly easy practice to eliminate, since balloons serve no practical function. If you’re wondering about alternative ways to celebrate, visit the Balloons Blow website for lots of creative alternatives, from flags, streamers, ribbon dancers, and kites, to drumming, floating flowers, and more.
The U.S. may end up with the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the industrialized world. This is how it’s going to play out. Joan Wong Story by Ed Yong Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here. Three months ago, no one knew that SARS-CoV-2 existed. Now the […]
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LLOYD ALTER You can only do this for so long. (Photo: Mick Tinbergen/Wikimedia Commons) The oldest baby boomers have just turned 70, and most can drive to their birthday parties. They’re being followed by 70 million other boomers, all happily motoring along. Their parents? Not so good these days. Janet Morrissey of The New York Times looks […]
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by Grace Panetta Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Associated Press After weeks of speculation, the billionaire philanthropist and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg officially announced he was jumping into the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential-primary field. Bloomberg is capitalizing on his estimated $52 billion net worth to run a highly […]
© K Martinko — A casual outdoor gathering makes everyone happy
© BalloonsBlow
