songbird's crazy world

 My latest acquisition

     No wonder Miss Duchess Cat, age 8, is so grumpy lately.

 Of course I watched the show.  I saw only a few of the nominated films, but I enjoyed the music, the comedy, etc.  some of the acceptance speeches are impressive. Two incidents stand out. The first was the Chris Rock/Will Smith/Jada Pinkett Smith situation.  Rock came on stage to present an award, but before he did so, he made a joke about Jada.  The joke was in poor taste.  Will laughed, until he saw Jada’s reaction to the joke.  Then he lost his temper, ran up onto the stage, and slapped Rock.Will returned to his seat and shouted expletives at Rock.   Anyone who thinks the situation was faked should review the video of the room during the commercial break.  Will Smith was still very emotional, and had to be soothed by Denzel Washington, Tyler Perry and others.  Later, after he won the Oscar for Best Actor, he gave a very emotional acceptance speech, in which he talked about protecting family.  He apologized to the Academy and his...

 Did you see this on  Twitter ?  Jon Bon Jovi did a shout-out after he saw a video of  t he people of Odesa preparing to defend the city while listening to Bon Jovi . So today we will play the music of Bon Jovi. Let's start with "Livin' on a Prayer"    "You Give Love A Bad Name"    "Wanted Dead or Alive"    "Never Say Goodbye"    And the song that inspired the Ukrainian freedom fighters.   

 So it turns out the victim was 6’5”, weighed 340 pounds, and had been turned away from other rides because he was too big to fit into the safety harnesses. It seems he felt fearful when the ride started to move, telling his friend who was also riding that he thought he was going to be killed on the ride. On Friday, the day after the accident, inspectors were seen sitting in the seats of the ride and taking measurements. And that video … that damning video … The video focuses on the friends of the person who is filming, but in the background you can see the victim.  Experts will be able to tell if the harness was on properly. Before the ride starts a young lady asks why she has a shoulder harness but no seatbelt … it seems similar rides use both … And after the ride you can see the distress of the crew members as one keeps asking the other two “Did you check him?” The family has already hired a lawyer … 

 I’m normally not a big fan of college basketball.  I like the game, I guess, but I never really developed an interest in it. But this year I’ve been sucked into March Madness. And it’s all because of a Cinderella team.  The St. Peter’s Peacocks. St. Peter’s is a small college in Jersey City, New Jersey.  It’s a very small school, only about 2,000 undergrads, with a very small sports budget.   Not the kind of team, or school, that ordinarily gains national attention.  Lucky to be a 15th seed in the NCAA tournament. But somehow they keep winning, beating teams that are theoretically better, advancing first to the Sweet 16, and with tonight’s win over Purdue, to the Elite 8.   I hope they keep busting everyone’s brackets.

 So if you know me, you know that I am a huge fan of Orlando theme parks.  I’ve vacationed at Walt Disney World and Universal Studios many times. So when I saw a headline about an accident at an Orlando theme park I had to read it. Turns out, the accident happened at a small amusement park on International Drive.  A horrible, horrible accident.  Every parent’s nightmare.  A fourteen-year-old boy fell off a free fall ride.  He later died at a hospital.  His parents were there when it happened.   Can you imagine?  You take your child to an amusement park, you assume everything will be ok … And then … Someone was recording video of the ride when the accident happened.  They captured the whole accident on video.  And posted the video on Twitter. [Puts on her attorney hat] That video is invaluable to the parents’ wrongful death suit. Its existence will be highlighted in every report written by the attorneys for the amusement park.  ...