News Of The Week Roundup: Week 42, 2021

What a crazytown news week it was.

Colin Powell died. The remains of Brian Laundrie were found and identified. Steven Bannon was held in contempt of Congress for ignoring a subpoena from the January 6th commission and now the Department of Justice has to make a decision on what to do with him. Kids are well-protected with small doeses of the COVID-19 vaccines. A plane crashed with nearly two dozen people on board... and they all lived... and of course, the tragedy on the set of Rust where Alec Baldwin's prop gun was loaded with a live round and he killed the cinematographer and injured the director. A tragedy.

It is ridiculous that another prop gun mishap has taken the life of a person a movie set. After the death of Brandon Lee, most thought films would be more careful. Also, why don't movies just use CGI to show gun battles? The technology is so amazing now, it wouldn't even be noticeable.

The death of a cinematographer on a movie set when Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun has led to calls for fundamental change in Hollywood. One network TV drama has already banished real weapons from the set and some are calling for an industry-wide ban. https://t.co/HSr56noNig

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 24, 2021

An assistant director unwittingly handed Alec Baldwin a loaded weapon and told him it was safe to use, in the moments before the actor fatally shot a cinematographer, according to unsealed court documents. https://t.co/q1z1CXYoAF

— NPR (@NPR) October 24, 2021

The crew did walk off the set of Rust to protest set safety, so there is a lot going on here.

My brother works in the film industry and is active in the union @IATSE, so I asked him about Alec Baldwin being given a loaded gun and accidentally killing director of photography (DP) Halyna Hutchins.

He explained that it's a result of union busting, scabs, and negligence pic.twitter.com/uHOcV55RTt

— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) October 23, 2021

“Rust” crew members who spoke with The Times said they were mystified how first assistant director Dave Halls could have handed a loaded gun to Alec Baldwin without thoroughly checking it.

“You don’t hand an actor a loaded gun.” https://t.co/itq0l6gvAX

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) October 24, 2021

Retired four-star general Colin Powell died Monday at age 84 from COVID-19 complications. He was fully vaccinated and we learned that he had cancer and Parkinson's disease. This means he was severely compromised. A memorial service is planned for next month.

A memorial service for Colin Powell will be held Nov. 5 at Washington National Cathedral, a spokeswoman says. https://t.co/0a7kgvs28k

— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 22, 2021

There are so many unanswered questions surrounding the murder of Gabby Petito and her assumed killer, boyfriend Brian Laundrie. Laundrie's remains were found earlier this week - his parents pointed police in the direction of some items that belonged to him like a backpack and notebook. The remains were found in a nature area where he went hiking many weeks ago. Perhaps the notebook will have some answers for investigators.

Dental records confirmed that the human remains found in a thickly wooded Florida park were those of Brian Laundrie, a “person of interest” in the murder of his fiancée, Gabrielle Petito, the FBI said on Thursday. https://t.co/wUQ7LH67AD

— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 21, 2021

Not all plane crashes are fatal - even really freaking bad ones. More than 20 people survived a crash in Texas last week. Just one person was injured.

A plane carrying nearly two dozen people crashed in Waller County, Texas, Tuesday morning. All passengers were removed from the plane and one injury has been reported, officials said. pic.twitter.com/YLqJX7M6ev

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) October 19, 2021

What will the Department of Justice do with Steven Bannon? Only AG Garland knows.

Today, the House found Steve Bannon in criminal contempt for defying a subpoena.

That charge will now be sent to the Justice Department for prosecution.

The DOJ should take the matter before the grand jury without delay and bring Bannon to justice.

No one is above the law.

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) October 21, 2021

Small doses of the COVID-19 vaccine seem to work really well for kids age 5-11. The FDA is expected to vote on approval of the vaccine for kids this coming week and the White House is already making plans on how to distribute the vaccines to kids. This is pretty big pandemic news!

BREAKING—Kid-size doses of Pfizer’s #COVID19 vaccine appear safe & nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infections in 5-11-year-olds, & their low-dose shots developed antibody levels just as strong as teens and young adults who got full doses.
https://t.co/9CzzNmyWxH

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) October 22, 2021

We expect the FDA and CDC’s decision on Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 5-11 in the next few weeks and have put together a plan to ensure that vaccines for this age group are available, easy & convenient, should the FDA & CDC authorize the vaccine. https://t.co/o4eX8N2F8e

— White House COVID-19 Response Team (@WHCOVIDResponse) October 20, 2021

And I leave you with this: most Buy Nothing groups don't pass around half-eaten food items.

I Laughed Too Hard At This

These Tweets showed up just like this in my feed - stacked right on top of each other. There is so much going on here. 1) I am glad Richie Faulkner (Judas Priest) is doing better. 2) I love that Faulkner had a world-class surgeon. 3) I love that people honestly were confused about Mark Slaughter and thought the guy who wrote "Up All Night" also sliced open Faulkner from stem to stern and saved his life. 4) Finally, I love that neither of the tweets below go to Blabbermouth - they go to links about Dr. Slaughter.

Extra credit: the dude is a heart surgeon and his last.name.is.Slaughter. It does not get more metal than that!

Meet MARK SLAUGHTER, RICHIE FAULKNER's Heart Surgeon https://t.co/8so9eJQ1q6 pic.twitter.com/D9Ea4O7kYc

— BLABBERMOUTH.NET (@BLABBERMOUTHNET) October 22, 2021

No, SLAUGHTER's MARK SLAUGHTER Did Not Perform Surgery On RICHIE FAULKNER https://t.co/jVvRRfJhSY pic.twitter.com/Pevz0UTVME

— BLABBERMOUTH.NET (@BLABBERMOUTHNET) October 22, 2021

'Fresh Air' Programming Note - Lenny Kravitz

I was listening to my local NPR station while getting ready for work this morning. During Morning Edition there was a promo for Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Today, the show will revisit a conversation with Lenny Kravitz and take a look at his music journey. I thought this sounded like it was worth a listen and I wanted to share. Terry Gross is probably the best interviewer in the country. This is a long-form interview and is nearly 40 minutes.

TODAY: We're revisiting our interview with @LennyKravitz. He talks about how he struggled to find his musical voice, and turned down multiple record deals. It wasn’t until he met Lisa Bonet that he found the music he wanted to write. https://t.co/hnwcl0bakZ

— Fresh Air (@nprfreshair) October 22, 2021

So My Cat Digs Metallica

I was minding my own business, reading a book and listening to classical music when my husband blew through the bedroom door and said "Alexa, play heavy metal!" I rolled my eyes when Imagine Dragons came on. Soon enough, Metallica and "Enter Sandman" was playing and in popped Roosevelt, the cat.

He searched all around the room until he zeroed in on the source of the music: my little white Echo Dot. I couldn't tell if he liked the music or not, but as James Hetfield kept singing, Roosevelt planted his butt right on the Echo Dot and patiently listened until "Enter Sandman" was done. Next up was Godsmack, so he took off and I switched back to classical.

So do I have a metal cat? I think so, but perhaps a very discerning one. I mean, how could he be anything else? He hangs out with me when I listen to Aerosmith and Motley Crue, too. I bet he'd hiss if Staind popped up on a playlist.

Enuff Z'Nuff Release New Video

Enuff Z'Nuff are promoting their new album Hardrock Nite which is a Beatles cover effort. To celebrate this album, the band just released a video for "Back In the USSR" and that clip is below. It isn't surprising that Enuff Z'Nuff is forging ahead with a Beatles covers album. Chip Z'nuff has been obsessed with the Beatles since... forever. Honestly I'm surprised it took him this long to put something together.

Hardrock Nite comes out December 10 via Frontiers.

Brunette - The Huge Sunset Strip Band That Fizzled

Random Tuesday Tidbits!

Before Hardline, there was Brunette. The band never released an actual album but a few songs exist, including "Lady Love." The video for the clip is below and there is a nice guitar solo around the 2:15 mark or so. Brunette played the Sunset Strip a lot and people seemed to love them. Of all the 80s acts that got signed to a major, it seems odd that Brunette wasn't included in the fun.

Apparently the "Lady Love" clip below is from the unreleased move Smash, Crash and Burn. Brunette plays the band Royal Smash. The soundtrack for the film was produced by - wait for it - Dana Strum.

Brunette has a Flickr page that details their movie fame. Oh yeah, Francis Ford Coppola happened to be director of Smash, Crash and Burn.

Vince Neil Health Update

Good news: Vince Neil is back at home and resting after a nasty fall this weekend. Vince fell from the stage during the Monsters on the Mountain festival and broke some ribs. I am glad Vince is doing better. He will have a decent amount of recovery time ahead of him. It takes around a couple months to heal broken ribs.

Some good news on Vince Neil following his scary fall during his solo show over the weekend. https://t.co/u90Ie6PpZo

— 105.7 WROR (@1057WROR) October 18, 2021