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May 26, 2022·edited May 26, 2022

Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode dies at 60

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Fletcher_(musician)

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The first concert I ever went to was Depeche mode

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Keyboardist

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I'm doing data entry - tenant's rent and utilities - and I've re-discovered my love of Reggae

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Sad news. Seems relatively young to go....

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Aww hell no. That's too young.

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Sad news. Sure, Field of Dreams, Goodfellas and Hannibal were what people talk about, but I thoroughly enjoyed Unlawful Entry, an under-the-radar, early '90's thriller. Cugel, what say you on this film?

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I would also add Narc, Blow and a personal guilty pleasure of mine, No Escape.

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and who could forget Wild Hogs??

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I haven't seen that one.

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Also excellent as a lawyer in Marriage Story.

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He was a good, understated Shoeless Joe. Something about the way he looked and carried himself gave the viewer the impression that he had experienced a lot of things

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I even enjoyed his film No Escape…Stuart Wilson was delightfully evil as the bad guy Marek, and Michael Lerner as the warden wasn’t bad either.

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I loved No Escape, such an underrated 90s sci fi, action movie.

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Totally. Lance Henriksen, Kevin Dillon, Ernie Hudson too!

Owen Wilson came out with a garbage flick awhile back that totally copied the name…unrelated storyline, and straight sacrilege, IMHO.

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I remember Unlawful Entry as well. Wasn't prepared for him to be the bad guy.

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Sorry...*spoiler*

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This brings up a larger point....how long after a movie/show is released does the "spoiler alert" statute of limitations expire? ;-)

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My suggestion, for a movie I'd say when it's out of theaters or two months if on streaming and for weekly episodic shows I'd say a couple weeks. Full season releases would fall under the movie category

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Awards you still have

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When I was in high school, I won my basketball team's Steve Sly award, which is awarded to the player who most exemplifies Steve Sly, who was apparently the star of the team who died in a car crash in the mid 70s while still in school. My senior year we lost every single game (0-27!*) but I practiced hard and knew every single play and defensive rotations and everything - so I got the award. I think some 25 years later, the current students probably think I was a good high school basketball player.

*we were actually a better team than the year before who won like 3 games - we were in a lot more games down to the end and lost like 4 in overtime. We just didn't know how to win a game.

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was Mark Fox your coach?

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if he had been he would never have gotten the Nevada or Georgia jobs.

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Mark Fox should be paying for Trent Johnson's grandkids college. Without Trent, Mark is co-teaching a typewriter maintenance course alongside Lt. Daniel Kaffee, son of Lionel Kaffee, at the Rocco Club School for Women.

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failing upward.

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I've got a trophy for winning most accurate in Asia one year. And I've got a bunch of participation medals for various races. And two trophies for the "Open Division" that dads can compete in for my kid's cub scout Pinewood Derby races.

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most accurate what?

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beer pong is a big thing in the DPRK

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My A & B swimming diplomas & bike competence cert from when I was in elementary school in the Hague.... and somewhere I think I have a really ugly clock I got as part of an award for being a top notch worker bee at a large consulting firm (also came with a weekend in Montreal but I can't show anyone that).

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I've got a few from my more competitive running days. When I was in Alaska I was a fairly big fish in a small pond so won some races.

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My first trophy was from my junior high bowling league. about 3 inches high. Only trophy I've kept.

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I won an award & cash for a painting I painted when I was at Berkeley.

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My roasted corn and habanero salsa won a farmer's market competition a few years back. I still have the certificate.

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That trophy the guy has in the DBD pic is just awesome

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he's throbbing with pride

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ready to burst forth onto the podium

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A few from my youth soccer days including a league MVP and several coaching softball and soccer.

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I also, of course, have a Nobel Prize, a Pulitzer, a few Oscars, a FIFA player of the year, a Heisman two Grammys, three Emmys, a Tony and MacArthur Fellowship. I hesitate to mention these because I don't want to seem like I'm bragging.

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Lol! That calls to mind - what award would you most like to have?

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Nobel Prize because it awards prestige, a cool one million dollars, and a parking spot on campus!

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Ohh...I forgot about the NL parking pass...

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Heisman Trophy by playing halfback for the California Golden Bears.

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Heisman seems like the worst to win because - at best, you live up to the hype... but you risk a lifetime of side-eye if you don't.

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True but heyalmunigo and I both went on to have successful NFL careers and excel in a variety of other fields.

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awards I'm still collecting.

I do boot camps at my boxing gym which are 4 week programs, M-F at 6am. If you don't miss more than 3 days, you get a medal, sorta like 5k/10k finisher medals. If you collect 7 medals, the owner rewards you with a replica boxing championship belt. I have 2 belts and am on my way to a third.

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Trophy for MVP of the Senior League (Little League) for the all-Hawaii all star team. Played catcher.

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OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY

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The victims at Uvalde don't end with those who were shot. Mega-oof.

https://twitter.com/Ernie_Zuniga/status/1529872688939995136

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My sis tells me that the cops did not enter the premises until well after the shooting started and let it go on for 40 minutes waiting for DHS agents to show up. Cowards.

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May 27, 2022·edited May 27, 2022

Their argument is that cops aren't equipped to charge into an armed situation and that it's not their duty to die for us. And yet a teacher dies trying to protect their students, and IMHO was better prepared to serve as a cop. And yet again, their solution is to arm teachers when **cops aren't willing to even enter these fire fights.** At which point, why are we even arming cops in the first place when it seems the only fire fights they're willing to partake in is against unarmed civilians?

Overall, a completely avoidable situation.

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Same at Parkland. Which is why having an armed guard would be useless.

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The armed guard WAS useless - confronted the shooter and then the shooter went in, and then all the cops sat outside wrestling parents to the ground.

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Poll shows Herschel Walker in a dead heat with Raphael Warnock for GA Senate seat. I mean, it's hard to argue against Walker's stance.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1529817124256026624

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I’m hoping this is the high water mark for Walker. Hopefully after he flounders at the debates and independent voters start paying attention he will drop in the polls and Warnock will win.

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he skipped the primary debates. unlikely to show for regular election debates either.

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Same poll has Stacey Abrams 5 points behind Kemp

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This is concerning and will be difficult to overcome. It is difficult to defeat an incumbent governor.

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The problem is that the teachers aren't armed with big enough guns, kids don't have enough ballistic blankets, resource officers don't have artillery, and [checks notes]... the scourge of unlocked doors.

https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1529613341781544960

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I've never understood why the right to bear arms should stop with guns. Keeping in the confines of arms that can be carried on the person, why should the right to bear grenades, RPGs, flamethrowers, molotov cocktails, etc., also not found under the Second Amendment? After all, it is only law abiding citizens that suffer from laws preventing the right to bear these other types of arms. Furthermore, why should there be an age restriction on these rights? Only by each of us arming ourselves to the teeth and ensuring other individuals their own assured destruction will we get rid of gun violence. Forget a "good guy with a gun," I want "a good guy with a grenade."

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The legal question is what did the word “arms” mean in 1789. I think Stevens’ op-Ed about the 2A touches on this. Obviously there were no AR-15s in 1789. Even separately from the well regulated militia clause, there is a good textual argument that all that is meant by “arms” is small arms not automatic or semi-automatic weapons.

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Well, I obviously agree with this point but my intention was to take the 2A. arguments to the absurd, dystopian, conclusion.

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I admire your strict adherence to textualism in all its glory

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Ockham’s Razor, and other basic critical thinking skills, really need to be taught in schools. This is just one manifestation of how nonsensical ideas spread without check because the populace is frankly too stupid to sift through the garbage.

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(Am responding to both my assumption that many people agree with the nonsense Cruz spouts in this video and also that he feels free to say it even though he knows it is nonsense).

Separately I am 100% with Yang that open primaries are needed. These guys’ ability to construct their own fantastical reality and speak to that is obviously aided in no small part by party primaries. Gerrymandering means general elections for most congressional seats are not competitive at all; it’s all decided in the primary where the pols are just feeding red meat to the base to get elected.

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Simple gerrymandering solution - require all US Representative seats to be elected statewide.

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I actually think local is fine but need districting done by a bipartisan commission as part of a nationwide reform

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Another solution for big states (California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and any other state with at least 12 US Reps) - carve out the urban region(s), including the associated suburbs, and have multiple at-large seats within those regions based on the region's population. It's easier to draw lines for the remaining rural areas. And those lines are more likely to look reasonable - that is, less influenced by gerrymandering.

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May 26, 2022·edited May 26, 2022Author

Add to that list is Lt. Gov Dan Patrick's suggestions of hardening schools with single entrance/exits, more Jesus Christ in their life, cracking down on violent video games/music, and less internet that unifies crazies together. Is that it, Dan? Yup, that it's. Definitely not guns.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1529819857394483200

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There should be lasers. Big beautiful lasers. Precision guided lasers that strike down any intruder and smite his obviously liberal soul into oblivion. Lasers, guided by the power of yet more lasers. Laser-guided lasers.

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This has been a repeat since the 80s

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I used to be a teacher in South Korea. I can tell you basically every male student would walk into class red eyed from staying up and playing video games, many of them violent. And guess what, no mass shootings. Wonder why????

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Mark Meadows provided hundreds of texts to the 1/6 Commission, but then stopped cooperating and sued the Committee and Verizon when they subpoenaed recording of his phone calls.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/25/trump-expressed-support-hanging-pence-capitol-riot-jan-6-00035117

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Oh dude, will be cool to see those calls!

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PRO

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TIL: Derrick Henry rushed for over 12,000 yards in high school and scored 153 TD over 48 games. And it wasn't just playing against cupcakes. He once ran for 485 yards in a playoff game.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derrick_Henry

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485 yards in a HS playoff game is insane. Still, it makes one wonder abut the disparity of talent between one Derrick Henry, his OL, and his opponents.

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SF Giants tee off on an emergency call-up in his first big league start. Poor guy only lasted 4 outs, surrendering 9 earned runs. It was good seeing you, Rook, but have a safe trip back to Syracuse. Mets are without SP DeGrom, Scherzer, and Megill.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401354895

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May 26, 2022·edited May 26, 2022Author

Kaepernick works out for the Raiders to compete for the back-up QB role vs. Garbers, Stidham, and Mullens.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/33983642/colin-kaepernick-work-las-vegas-raiders-week-sources-say

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Getting a bit crowded at QB. I hope Chase gets a fair shake, and if not, I hope another team picks him up.

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I like your optimism, but he won't. Raiders traded for Stidham ($636k guaranteed) and Mullens has $1m of his 1-year contract guaranteed.

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I have a feeling he will need to prove himself in a lesser league, as he will never get the snaps even in practice with an NFL team. Canada?

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Jaromir Jagr accidentally crashed into a tram. Also, Jaromir Jagr drives a Kia.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd-kkTGgHAF/

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Not just any Kia, their EV6 electric hatchback.

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Boston is going to be a tough opponent for the Dubs...

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I don’t want to jinx things by assuming we get through but I agree, they are young, great defenders, and they have played together a long time despite their youth. Sort of like the polar opposite of the Nets.

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CAL

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I need some more fun Cal swimming news:

The best backstroker training at Cal might not be Ryan Murphy anymore. Cal men's swimming hired a new assistant coach (previous coach became the head coach at Pitt) Matt Bowe from Ohio State and he has brought Hunter Armstrong, a 2022 Olympian who recently broke Ryan Murphy's backstroke record. Armstrong has already decided to forgo the last two years of collegiate eligibility but will also move to Berkeley to stay with Bowe and train daily against Murphy.

Do we bestow the title of "Calympian" on Armstrong if he just trains at Cal?

https://swimswam.com/world-record-holder-hunter-armstrong-following-coach-matt-bowe-to-cal/

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"Do we bestow the title of "Calympian" on Armstrong if he just trains at Cal?"

are you fucking kidding me? You the same guy who doesn't want to give USC credit for Allison Felix bc she didn't technically run for USC. GTFOH

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I have maintained that those medals don't count for the school's count, but the title of "Calympian" has been bestowed on people who are volunteer coaches who is training in Berkeley (like people email/tweet at me to include people in this loose category).

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And yes, coaches are different from training partners and I think there is some NCAA definition (but more limit) on the number of coaches that a program can have.

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People tweet you bc they know you’re the biggest blue lensed Cal homer there is. You and your arbitrary what does and doesn’t count is absolute bullshit. If Allison Felix’s medals don’t count for USC, then none of that other shit should count for Cal.

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And you want to “bestow” Calympian on someone who competed for another school and will not do the same for Cal, but will just train here? Man, you better take a good look at yourself and find out what makes you so petty in the most meaningless ways.

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Cal wins 1st round baseball playoff game vs UCLA at 1:26am

https://www.si.com/college/cal/other-sports/cal-pac-12-baseball-tournament-opener

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I watched a few innings. Tonight's game against OSU will be around 8:30 on pac 12 network

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By winning that game, Cal will again play the last game tonight. The game is scheduled to start at 9 PM PT...

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Pac 12 After Daaaaaaaaark !!![lightning crashes]

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If it runs late again maybe I'll catch the end of the game when I get up in the morning. Or probably not.

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what the...

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The second in charge at Cal Athletics was the godmother to McKeever's oldest. Do people not get ethics training? Do not be in an actual or HAVE THE APPEARANCE of a conflict of interest. I have taken and retaken ethics training every year for the past 30 years and this is Ethics 101.

https://swimswam.com/teri-mckeever-is-godmother-to-child-of-high-ranking-cal-athletics-official/

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Go Bears!!!

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Game times announced. I hope y'all enjoy day drinking.

https://twitter.com/CalFootball/status/1529893230040342528?t=GFe6N3EMhFYP2YHwM0WYgw&s=19

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Yeah sure, you betcha...

Red hook hazy IPA

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