News Of The Week Roundup: Week 7, 2021

The biggest story of the past week was easily the fiasco in Texas. Severe and abnormal winter weather hit Texas and it basically crippled the state. Days after the storm, residents are still without power and water. It got so cold, many residents died, including a young boy. Comments from a (now former) mayor did not go over well with residents. Ditto for comments by former Texas governor Rick Perry who basically told folks to just suck it up. Then there was the complete debacle caused by Senator Ted Cruz who up and decided to go on a beach vacation in Cancún - staying at the Ritz Carlton - amid all the chaos.

“Anyone can or want to leave for the week? We may go to Cancún.”

Inside the revealing text messages that left Sen. Ted Cruz facing fierce blowback for fleeing Texas as disaster struck: https://t.co/e1wOAvJYaP

— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 20, 2021

A United airlines flight from Denver to Honolulu had a big mishap yesterday when it lost an engine... parts came off the plane, landing in yards of onlookers below. Amazingly no one was hurt on the plane or on the ground. These photos are nuts.

JUST IN: Denver International Airport officials tell us United Airlines Flight 328 bound for Honolulu returned to the airport after an engine problem. Neighbors heard a loud boom, took these photos of what look like Boeing 777 engine nacelle in their yards. pic.twitter.com/mklpz3VG4F

— Pete Muntean (@petemuntean) February 20, 2021

COVID-19 cases are finally going down in America - or at least it seems so! This is good news while the country hits a grim milestone: 500,000 dead.

A little less than a year ago, covid-19 had killed just a handful of people in the United States. Now, the pandemic’s official death toll equals the size of a major city, more than the population of Kansas City and nearly as many as Atlanta or Sacramento. https://t.co/XlLzYE7WlL

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 21, 2021

Dr. Fauci says it's possible Americans will need to wear masks in 2022 even as the US may reach "a significant degree of normality" by year's endhttps://t.co/XLRwWIPMC9 pic.twitter.com/B3ntTpsKDH

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) February 21, 2021

...and I leave you with this - copy cat:

📷: @jobet pic.twitter.com/weWMIaG0Gu

— Bodega Cats (@Bodegacats_) February 21, 2021

A Random Tidbit - Pink Floyd

So I have never heard this before, but some histories of Pink Floyd say the band was originally known as Architectural Abdabs. This is not true, according to the official Pink Floyd Twitter account.

Of course, I went down an online rabbit-hole, looking for instances of the name. I mostly came up with other people asking some version of the question"Was this really Pink Floyd?!"

Some biographies of Pink Floyd assert they were the Architectural Abdabs in the early days; this was never the case, and springs from this newspaper headline from early 1964. The band at that time included Nick, Richard, Roger, Clive Metcalf, Keith Noble & Juliette Gale. pic.twitter.com/L5QmKc2gVe

— Pink Floyd (@pinkfloyd) February 20, 2021

Architectural Abdabs from r/pinkfloyd

'Love On The Rocks'

While working late into the evening last night, I was clicking around, looking for something different to listen to in the background. This was completely mindless listening - I needed something that required no attention because I would be focused on work but still enjoy the music. I ended up on Poison's Open Up and Say... Ahh! album.

I have no idea if I have stated it here before, but that album is one of the top 10 most important of my life. Poison was my glam gateway in the 80s. I was only 8 or so when Open Up came out, so being a big fan soon opened me up to other acts like Motley Crue, Def Leppard, the whole gambit.

In a lot of ways, Open Up is just the perfect 80s glam release: it is fun, the songs are memorable and yes, there's a huge power ballad too. My mom immediately loved "Fallen Angel" when that song was a single. I thought the video for "Nothin' but a Good Time" was the best thing ever.

These days, I don't listen to Open Up all that often because I have heard it probably a million times. When I do choose to give it a play, I tend to gravitate toward the B-sides. I think "Love On The Rocks" is one of the best songs Poison ever recorded. At just over three minutes, it is the perfect length. It is raunchy and crunchy and has a nice riff. The chorus gets stuck in your head. Here's the band doing the song live, way back in 1990.

'Story Of Love' -- Bon Jovi, New Video

The situation in Texas continues to be a nightmare - I hope the residents get power and water restored sooner rather than later. That is to say nothing about the empty grocery store shelves. An absolute nightmare.

In my work news, I spent the entire day fighting with PowerPoint and Excel again. My eyes are shot! This did give me plenty of time to listen to Pink Floyd and Aerosmith, so that is positive. In glam news, Bon Jovi has a video out today for their track "Story of Love" from the album 2020. Why does every Bon Jovi song/video these days seem like a solo effort?

The Story of Love music video is out now! Watch it and share it with your family and friends. https://t.co/qr3RGZ9pxo

— Bon Jovi (@BonJovi) February 18, 2021

'Hold The Line'

I do not think of Toto as a glam band or even a yacht rock act, honestly. To me they are just classic rock at this point. I was listening to Toto earlier while trying to figure out a vexing Power Point problem (don't ask!) and "Hold The Line" came on. The song was the band's debut single and I would argue is probably their "heaviest" tune. The song is just good, straight up rock music. I've been writing this website daily since the end of 2006 and I do not think I have mentioned Toto's "Hold The Line" until today, which is pretty amazing when you think about it.

I bet many of you have stories about seeing Toto live. I have never been to a Toto show, but I bet they were fire back in the early 80s.

Here's a metal cover of "Hold The Line" by Bonfire:

It's True. All Of It.

A new study shows that heavy metal lowers blood pressure and anxiety. I know when I am feeling blue, heavy music nearly always puts me in a better mood. How about you?

Heavy metal lowers blood pressure and reduces anxiety, according to a new study https://t.co/V4DEoiJm2n

— Guitar World (@GuitarWorld) February 16, 2021

A Playlist For Snow

Most of the U.S. is being hit with a massive winter storm right now. Apparently, my region is due to get up to a foot of snow overnight and then more toward the end of the week.

I despise winter.

There are 33 days until spring and something tells me it will be a long slog to the warmer weather. All the cold and ice got me thinking about metal snow day songs. Does such a thing exist? Here are my choices for a great snowy playlist.

"Trapped Under Ice" - Metallica

"Snowblind" - Black Sabbath

"Snowballed" - AC/DC

... and of course, "Cold As Ice" by Foreigner. Do you have any suggestions to add to this playlist?