Category Archives: News

RIP “Dusty” Hill of ZZ Top

Gibbons, Beard and Hill – 1986

The band’s Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard issued a statement:

“We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX.  We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the ‘Top’. We will forever be connected to that ‘Blues Shuffle in C.’

“You will be missed greatly, amigo.”

Earlier this month, Gibbons and Beard played their first performances without Hill in more than 50 years, stating that the bassist had been forced to seek medical attention “to address a hip issue,” according to a statement, although his ailment was apparently more serious than they let on. “Per Dusty’s request the show must go on!,” the statement continued, and the band’s longtime guitar tech, Elwood Francis, filled in.

Hill would join Gibbons and Beard for a gig in Beaumont, TX, on Feb. 10, 1970. The lineup remained the same for more than five decades: They celebrated their 50th anniversary at a San Antonio concert in February 2020.

Dusty hill has zoomed on out…

Thank you for 50 years of fantastic rock and roll!

RIP Michael Collins

On July 16, 1969 three men, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins launched into the sky aboard Saturn V AS-506 to start the Apollo 11 mission.

Four days later, on July 20, 1969, Buzz and Neil entered the Eagle to begin preparations for lunar landing. Later, Eagle separated from Columbia to begin descent to the lunar surface.

Armstrong stepped off Eagle’s footpad and declared: “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” The first human had stepped foot on the Moon.

Buzz joined Armstrong a few minutes later with the simple phrase: “Magnificent desolation.”

But, during the entire process, Michael Collins orbited the Moon. Alone. Forty eight minutes of each orbit he was out of radio contact with the Earth as Columbia passed the far side of the Moon. “Not since Adam has any human known such solitude as Mike Collins,” the mission log said.

Michael Collins passed away today at age 90.

And then there was one…

RIP Dawn Wells

Dawn Elberta Wells (October 18, 1938 – December 30, 2020), as Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island

Dawn Wells, Mary Ann of Gilligan’s Island to most of us, has died from COVID-19. She was 82.

Wikipedia Link

RIP Arecibo Observatory

The Arecibo Observatory, also known as the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC), is an observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico owned by the US National Science Foundation (NSF).

The observatory’s main instrument was the Arecibo Telescope, a 305 m (1,000 ft) spherical reflector dish built into a natural sinkhole, with a cable-mount steerable receiver and several radar transmitters for emitting signals mounted 150 m (492 ft) above the dish. Completed in 1963, it was the world’s largest single-aperture telescope for 53 years, surpassed in July 2016 by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in China. Following two cable breaks supporting the receiver platform in the prior months, the NSF stated on November 19, 2020 it was decommissioning the telescope for safety concerns, but before controlled demolition could be conducted, the remaining cables failed on December 1, 2020, causing catastrophic structural failure to the telescope.

Wikipedia Link

RIP Alex Trebek

What is, “That’s all folks.”

George Alexander Trebek, July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020)

Best know as the host of Jeopardy! since its comeback in 1984, Alex Trebek passed away today at age 80.

I would have loved to have a role in the HBO series ‘Deadwood.’ It was Shakespeare in the Old West. – Alex Trebek

Whale sculpture stops train in Rotterdam

“No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die”

Goldfinger finally got what he wanted. Mr. Bond, Sean Connery, has passed at age 90.

Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor and producer. He was best known as the first actor to portray the character James Bond in film, starring in seven Bond films (every film from Dr. No to You Only Live Twice, plus Diamonds Are Forever and Never Say Never Again) between 1962 and 1983.

Wikipedia Article

‘Murder Hornet’ nest confirmed in Washington State

WSDA ENTOMOLOGISTS LOCATE ASIAN GIANT HORNET NEST – FIRST IN THE US

BLAINE – After weeks of trapping and searching, Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) entomologists have located an Asian giant hornet nest on a property in Blaine – the first ever such nest found in the U.S.
 
The agency plans to attempt an eradication of the nest on Saturday, Oct. 24. Initial plans to eliminate the nest today have been tabled due to the inclement weather.
 
The successful detection of a nest comes after a WSDA trapper collected two live Asian giant hornets on Oct. 21, caught in a new type of trap the agency had placed in the area. Two more hornets, also living, were found in another trap the morning of Oct. 22 when WSDA staff arrived in the area to tag the previously trapped hornets with radio trackers and follow one back to its nest.

Read the rest at the source.

Video shows cougar stalking Utah hiker

WW2 bomb explodes underwater in Poland

RIP Eddie Van Halen

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen (January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020)

Rock legend Eddie Van Halen didn’t set out to change the way the guitar was played. But, as he explained to a standing-room-only crowd at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, music shaped his life—and his life shaped his music—in unexpected ways from his very first performances. – link

Thank you, Eddie for your music. The great big band in the sky just added a kick-ass guitarist. What a jam session there will be tonight.

Eddie Van Halen, founding member of Van Halen, and guitar virtuoso extraordinaire, died today at age 65.

Wikipedia Link

Article about Eddie at the Oral Cancer Foundation here

We came here with approximately $50 and a piano, and we didn’t speak the language, he said. Now look where we are. “If that’s not the American dream, what is?” he said.

RIP Mac Davis

Scott “Mac” Davis[1] (January 21, 1942 – September 29, 2020)

Mac Davis has died at age 78 from complications from heart surgery. Davis was an American country music singer and songwriter originally from Lubbock, Texas.

He is credited as writing “Memories”, “In the Ghetto”, “Don’t Cry Daddy”, and “A Little Less Converstation” for Elvis Presley, and a career in the 70s produced hits such as “Baby, Don’t Get Hooked on Me” and “Hard to Be Humble.”

He starred in his own variety TV show, a Broadway musical, and did TV and film as well.

Final Qantas 747 Flight

The final Qantas 747 departure from Australia left Sydney Wednesday afternoon for Los Angeles. Before heading across the Pacific, VH-OEJ took to the sky over Sydney to leave a special message. Today’s departure marks the end of the Qantas 747 fleet’s 49 years of service.

Over the past week, Qantas operated three “Farewell Jumbo Joy Flights” touring Sydney, Brisbane, and Canberra with passengers on board for the final time. Today’s flight is taking the aircraft from Sydney to Los Angeles, where it will clear customs before continuing on to its final resting place in the California desert.

After making a scenic departure over Sydney and a low pass over the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) in Wollongong, which hosts a retired Qantas 747, QF7474 turned east over the Tasman Sea to draw Qantas’ iconic kangaroo.

Qantas Final 747 Flight

Measuring 275 kilometers east-west and 250 km north-south, the kangaroo took slightly less than 90 minutes to complete. When finished, VH-OEJ climbed to cruising altitude for the last time and headed out over the Pacific Ocean towards Los Angeles. After resting at LAX for a day, the very last takeoff by a Qantas 747 will send VH-OEJ to Mojave where it will join its fleet mates in retirement.

VH-OEJ receiving a water salute before its final departure from Sydney Airport.

RIP Charlie Daniels

Charles Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020)

Charles Edward Daniels was an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known for his contributions to Southern rock, country, and bluegrass music. He was best known for his number-one country hit “The Devil Went Down to Georgia“. Daniels was active as a singer and musician since the 1950s. He was inducted into the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame in 2002, the Grand Ole Opry in 2008, the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009, and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016.

Daniels died on July 6, 2020, of a hemorrhagic stroke at the age of 83.

Wikipedia Link

Huge Landslide in Norway

Gizmodo explains it, but that is amazing!

Tasmanian Tiger: Newly Restored Footage

RIP Harold Reid

The Statler Brothers (Harold is upper left)

Harold Reid, a member of the legendary country group The Statler Brothers, died Friday (April 24) following a long battle with kidney failure. He was 80.

Truck spills 216,000 dice on the road!

Photo via Trivium Studios

Read the rest here on Kotaku!

RIP Rhoda

Valerie Harper (August 22, 1939 – August 30, 2019)

Valerie Harper was an American actress. She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut in the musical Take Me Along in 1959. Harper is best remembered for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–77) and its spin-off Rhoda (1974–78). For her work on Mary Tyler Moore, she thrice received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and later received the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on Rhoda.

RIP Dr. John

No more “Brain Salad Surgery”. 🙁

Malcolm John Rebennack (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music combined blues, pop, jazz, boogie-woogie and rock and roll.

Excerpt from the New York Times obituary:

Onstage as Dr. John, he adorned himself with snakeskin, beads and brightly colored feathers, and his shows blended Mardi Gras bonhomie with voodoo mystery.

He recorded more than 30 albums, including jazz projects (“Bluesiana Triangle,” 1990, with the drummer Art Blakey and the saxophonist David Newman), solo piano records (“Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack,” 1981) and his version of Afropop (“Locked Down,” 2012). His 1989 album of standards, “In a Sentimental Mood,” earned him the first of six Grammy Awards, for his duet with Rickie Lee Jones on “Makin’ Whoopee!”

His only Top 40 single, “Right Place Wrong Time,” reached No. 9 on the Billboard chart in 1973. In 2011, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.