Sportscaster Dale Hansen's Comments On NFL "Take The Knee" Is Required Watching

WFAA sportscaster Dale Hansen just gave us an epic
takedown of Trump and his NFL protest nonsense.

There's a great sportscaster at television station WFAA in Dallas named Dale Hansen who's been there forever.  

The man is awesome. I first wrote about him in this here blog thingy back in 2014, when he came to the defense of Michael Sam, an NFL draft pick who was openly gay, something that would hurt his chances of become an NFL player

Hansen shredded the anti-gay bigots who would keep Sam out of the NFL spectacularly.

Hansen has done a lot of other great commentaries over the years, but this time, his words are required reading, or at least the video of him delivering those words are required watching. That video is at the bottom of this post. You HAVE to watch it.

This time, Hansen takes on Trump's appalling criticism of NFL players who kneel during the national anthem to protest violence against African Americans.

Here's just on excerpt, which gives you a taste of what you will watch:

"It has not gone unnoticed that Trump has spoken out against the Mexicans who want to come to America for a better life, against the Muslims, and now the black athlete. But he says nothing for days about the white men who marched under a Nazi flag in Charlottesville, except to remind us there were good people there. '

And when he finally tried to say the right thing, not one of them was called an S.O.B. or should be fired. We have white men in America who wave the Nazi flag and the Confederate flag and he's concerned about taking a knee because it disrespects this flag. We use that flag to sell mattresses and beer. We wear it as a swimsuit. We wrap our bald heads in a flag bandana and stick it in our pants, because we disrespect the flag every day."

Here's the video:

You'll Hear A Lot From Awesome The Voice Contestant Jordan Smith..

Jordan Smith does an incredible version of
"Somebody To Love" on "The Voice." 

UPDATE: In case you haven't heard, Jordan Smith won Season 9 of "The Voice" Tuesday evening, and I couldn't be more thrilled.

I think he's got a long, successful career ahead of him.

By the way, I really love Smith's parents, who cried with pride through every episode, and did so when brought up on stage last night when Smith won.

Kudos to his coach, Adam Levine, too, for giving Smith the latitude to do things his way. And nice bear hug by Levine given to Smith's mom. Very nice moment!

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION:

I get nervous anytime somebody tries to sing like the late, great Freddie Mercury

Mercury, the frontman for Queen, had in my opinion perhaps the best rock singing voice of anybody through the decades.

On the many singing competition shows out there, contestants sometimes try to show their chops by trying to be be the next Freddie Mercury. It usually doesn't work.

However, The Voice contestant Jordan Smith this past week took a stab at Freddie Mercury and Queen's "Somebody To Love."

The results were amazing, and so good Smith's "Somebody To Love" managed to knock the unstoppable Adele's "Hello" out of the top spot on iTunes.

He's also the first person on record to replace himself at the Number 1 spot on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs list. His "The Voice" performance of "Hallelujah" dethroned his earlier cover of "Great Is They Faithfulness."

On top of his powerful voice, Smith had a gospel choir perform backup for "Somebody To Love." It worked perfectly.

See for yourself in the video below. Jordan Smith is just amazing, and I hope we hear from him for a long time to come:

The Saint Of Dry Creek

A still from the YouTube animation of
Story Corp's "The Saint of Dry Creek."  

I love "Story Corp" on NPR.

Hell, I love Story Corp's entire web site. 

They're glimpses of lives, very personal that air each Friday.

Every time I hear Story Corp while I'm driving to work, I find myself crying.  Every once in awhile, human beings can be so giving, so wise.

Yes, humanity can be awful. Just read the news about terrorists attacks, ISIS, Congressional gridlock, corporate greed and any number of sins that are in the daily news.

But humanity can be poignant and beautiful, too. Especially when it's not cluttered with people with a shallow agenda.

One great example came my way today via JoeMyGod, a blog focusing on gay political and social issues.

It turns out Story Corps makes great videos of their stories too.  For animated visual versions of Story Corp,  it's totally worth it to check out their YouTube channel.   

And this one is awesome. It focuses on a rural dairy farmer dad, circa 1950s in rural Washington State.

This particular dairy farmer dad was incredibly wise, and way before his time. I just wish there were more people like him on Earth now. That's all I'm going to day about it. You just have to watch.

And you might get teary eyed, like I often do during Story Corps episodes.

Prom Season Brings Out Great Kids, And A Few Lousy Adults

Alabama teen Joy Webb picked her grandfather, James Drain,
to take to the prom because Drain never had
the chance to go to his prom when he was in high school 

Every year I like the stories of teenagers doing something special for that springtime high school rite: The prom.

So it is this year, with quite a few great examples. We have Drew Holm of Indiana, who took his great grandmother, Katie Keith to the prom because she is, in his words, "the prettiest woman."

Then there's the great story of Joy Webb, an Alabama 17 year old, who learned her grandfather, James Drain, 80, never had the opportunity to go to his high school prom, so Joy took James to hers. 

Then there's Ben Moser, the star quarterback at his high school in Pennsylvania, who remembered back when he was in fourth grade that he promised to take his friend, Mary Lapkowicz, who has Down's Syndrome, to the prom when they were high school seniors.

So, Moser took Kapkowicz to the prom this year and a good time was had by all, of course.

I'm glad we have these kids to hold up as examples of how to behave gallantly. Especially since some adults have really fallen short.

Young women like to wear glamorous, sexy dresses to proms, as well they should. It's a celebration.

A few school administrators are a bit too focused on students' bodies.

We have the case of Alexus Miller Wigfall, a student at Harrisburg High School in Pennsylvania, who was kicked out of the prom for a dress some idiot thought was too revealing, or, apparently, the school administrator thought the girl was too fat to be at a prom.

Wigfall said the school administrator told her, "You have more boobs that other girls...The other girls have less to show."

To the mind of one Michigan school administrator
Mireya Briceno is a flashing naked girl, basically,
because of the cut of her prom dress. Seems
fine to me, but what to I know?  

A similar thing happened to Mireya Briceno in Michigan, where some school jerky adult thought the cut of her unusual but fun prom dress showed a bit too much skin around the middle.

By the way, the news articles showed pictures of both young women in their dresses.  I'm highly confused about how the school principals and such could say they were indecent.

Adminstrators at a Louisiana high school wanted to ban female, openly gay honors student from wearing a tuxedo at her prom because the clothes were the wrong "gender."  Hey, at least she's well covered up with the tux, what's the school complaining about, then?

I think some adults have been staring at teens' clothing a wee bit too much.

So, we have a case of the kids acting like kind, responsible adults and adults acting like perverted teenagers gawking and shaming people over how they quite reasonably dress.

Maybe we should reverse who's in charge.

Yet Another AWESOME Local TV News Interview

Floyd Briggs, pictured here, has given the best local
television interview so far this year. Image from KFOR.  

Floyd Briggs is going to join the pantheon of best local television interviews ever.

He'll join the ranks of the classic interviews, like the "apparently kid" at a Pennsylvania fair, the flair of Antoine Dodson, who foiled a creep who tried to sexually assault his sister, and the woman describing a destruction hailstorm at her house -- KABOOYA!!!

Floyd Briggs joins the list of these awesome interviews for describing for television station KFOR how he stopped a motorcyclist being chased by police in Chickasaw, Oklahoma.

Briggs is a camoflauge wearing big good ole' boy who stepped out into the street to make the motorcyclist crash, then chased him down.

Briggs admitted to the reporter that he got kind of winded chasing the guy down. "I was running out of steam very quick. I'm not very aerodynamic."

I also like how Briggs apologized to his neighbors during the interview for the salty language he used as he helped apprehended the perp, but I'm sure he's already forgiven.  He seems like the type of guy that everyone would like.

"I did use some language that just isn't how I talk....Some of the words I used, I was pretty worked up. I'm sorry for that."

There were no serious injuries in the incident, and the motorcycle driver faces several criminal charges. But, we have a new news hero in Briggs.

By the way, Briggs' Facebook page might be a little lowbrow, in a very good way, and it's also pretty funny.

Here's the awesome news clip from KFOR:

My Vote For Best Performance Ever On "The Voice"

Kimberly Nicole blew me away with her
performance of the song "Creep" on "The Voice"  

Regular readers of this blog know I'm a big fan of the televised singing competition show "The Voice," so of course I watched it last night.

There's a paricularly strong group of eight finalists currently, but one named Kimberly Nichole just blew me away Monday evening.

She sang one of my favorite songs, the Radiohead classic "Creep."

I know, I know. Too many people have covered that song. It's turning into a cliche.

But Nichole turned the song on its head, and turned it into one of the best performances I've seen on the show. She kind of turned the song into an epic play.

Watch what she does toward the end. The move downward is so brilliant. She made the song so complex, and totally renewed "Creep"

I'm gushing, but I'm hoping to hear a lot more from Kimberly Nichole in the future based on this video:

Two Year Old's Version Of National Anthem Not Soaring, But Beautiful Nonetheless

Trent Harris, age 2 and a half, sings the National
Anthem recently at a New Jersey high school
basketball game.  

At many sporting events, it seems singers try to outdo each other with ever more soaring versions of the Star Spangled Banner. 

It's become kind of like a televised singing competition. Blow the house down with blowtorch vocals or something.  

So it was refreshing, at the start of a recent high school basketball game, that quite another type of singer did his version of the "Star Spangled Banner."

As the Huffington Post notes, Trent Harris might not have hit all the right notes, and maybe he struggled with a couple bits of the lyrics. But that's OK. He's only 2 years old.

That's right. It's probably the youngest age at which I've ever heard the Star Spangled Banner performed. 

Trent's mother said he likes to listen to her sing the anthem before bedtime, so he's pretty familiar with it now. That might sound strange, but Trent's dad is a football player with the Cincinnati Bengals, so the anthem, which starts every NFL game, is a connection to his dad.

Trent didn't practice much before the performance, but as you'll see, below, that's OK. It worked.

I love how he pronounces "glare" and "air" in the part of the Star Spangled Banner that refers to the rockets red glare. 

There was a backup plan in case Trent got cold feet or was too nervous, but he handled the task of singing before the game like an old pro.

Next up: He'll be a competitor on "The Voice" or something.

Watch Trent's awesome rendition of the National Anthem:

Awesome Northern Lights Seen From Trans-Atlantic Flight

The Northern Lights have been seen flickering around much of the Northern Hemisphere this week.

Screen shot from Paul Williams' video of Northern Lights
as seen from a recent trans-Atlantic flight.  

(Right, Vermont sky photographer Brian Drourr?)

Photographer Paul Wiliams was aboard a trans-Atlantic Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Newark, New Jersey when he spotted the Northern Lights.

The amazing video you see below is a 1,800 picture time lapse, with each photo a two to three second exposure at F1.4 ISO 2000-4000, Williams said.

This isn't the first time Williams has caught Northern Lights from a plane. He got quite a bit of well-earned publicity for doing the same in 2013.

No matter how he did it, this is just AWESOME:

Play Dolly Parton's "Jolene" At About 3/4 Its Normal Speed And You Get Awesome

Dolly Parton's "Jolene" seems to be awesome
played at any speed.  

Dolly Parton's classic 1973 record "Jolene" is awesome. Moody, desperate, passionate.

Now, get this. Somebody thought to play the 45 rpm record on an old turntable at 33 rpm. So you hear it at roughly 73.3 percent of its normal speed.

Hat tip to BoingBoing for clueing us into this

The first to the two videos below is "Jolene" by Dolly Parton, done at the speed and familiarity we're used to with the song.

The second video is the 33 rpm, 73.3 percent rate. It sounds like a guy, losing out in a same-sex relationship. But it's totally, TOTALLY awesome.

Listen to both of them. Absolutely worth it.

First: Normal Dolly Parton:


Now, the 33 rpm version of Parton singing "Jolene." Which do you think is better?

The Best Snow Day School Closing Announcement EVER, By Far

Matt Glendinning, left, the Head of Moses Brown School
in Providence, Rhode Island announces school is closed
for the blizzard in the best possible way while
a puzzled school administrator looks on.  

Thousands of schools throughout New England are closed today as the Blizzard of 2015 rages on.

Most people probably got a text message, or a robocall or heard an announcement on the radio that their school was closed.  

But the experience was quite different at the Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island, a college prep Quaker day school for kids in nursery school through Grade 12.

The school's communication director, Adam Olenn and Head of School Matt Glendinning found the BEST EVER way yesterday to tell students and their parents that school would not be in session today.

It's musical! It feels like Broadway! It's based on "Let It Go" from "Frozen"!

In the video, Glendinning is only lip syncing. The song was actually performed by Justin Peters, the school's choral director, in a sound studio prior to the video being shot,  according to WBUR in Boston.  

The participants produced the video well in advance of any forecasts for storms, knowing that eventually, Moses Brown would have to call a school day. Olenn said he wrote the lyrics in 15 minutes.

When Moses Brown administrators on Sunday heard weather forecasts of the blizzard bearing down on New England, the had their golden chance to release the snow day video, says WBUR.

The lyrics are great in their own simple way.

"The snow glows white on Route 95.
not a tire track to be seen.
We could make you come to school
but tht would just be mean. 

It is really quite a production. And it is the most awesome thing ever. Watch the whole thing and you'll wish Glendinning would come to your school to annouce a snow day

Watch and enjoy!

Dover, Delaware Police Officer Out Swifts Taylor Swift With "Shake It Off"

UPDATE: Taylor Swift like this guy:

Admit it. Like me, a lot of you probably like Taylor Swift's current big hit "Shake It Off."

Believe it or not, the guy on the left in this
photo can out Taylor Swift Taylor Swift.  

However, a big, burly officer with the Dover, Delaware Police Department recently put in an EPIC performance of "Shake If Off" while he patrolled the city.

The guy, so far only identified as "Officer Davis," has got the moves down perfectly.

I think Taylor Swift needs to hire this guy immediately to put him in her shows.

As it is, news organizations are already clammoring for more on this story. The video has gone totally viral.

The Dover Police Department only posted the video on its Facebook page Friday morning, and less than 24 hours later, had received nearly 400,000 views

See for yourself. It will totally brighten your day:

Boy 6 and 3/4 Years Old, Asks Neil deGrasse Tyson "What Is Meaning Of Life?" Answer Beyond Perfect

It turns ou Neil deGrasse Tyson knows what
the meaning of life is.  

Scientist and Cosmos host Neil deGrasse Tyson gets some really tough questions while out on speaker tours.

Really tough.

But he seems to answer the queries just fine. More than fine.

Like the other night in Boston, when a kid named Jack, age 6 and 3/4, asked Tyson, "What is the meaning of life?"

Watch the video at the bottom of this post for Tyson's perfect answer, but here's a spoiler, in the form of part of Tyson's response:

"People ask that question on the assumption that meaning is something you can look for....'Here's the meaning. I've been looking for it.' It doesn't consider the possibility that meaning in life is something you create. 

You manufacture it for yourself and for others. Did I learn something that I didn't know yesterday, bringing me a little closer to knowing all that can be known in the universe?

To learn is to become closer to nature and to learn how things work gives you power to influence events. It gives you power to help people who might need it, power to help yourself, to shape a trajectory."

Tyson then urged Jack to jump in puddles, to pull out all the pots and pans in the house and bang on them with spoons. Jack's parents might object, but Tyson said he was overriding them and giving Jack his permission, because jumping in puddles and banging on pots are ways kids explore and learn.

It's a habit, Tyson said, that people should carry with them all their lives.  Tyson said he considers a day in which he didn't learn something as a day wasted.

Which makes me glad I stumbled upon the video, below, because I learned something today. You will, too.  

Bet You Can't Do What This Yo-Yo Guy Can

Gentry Stein doing his yo-yo thing, awesomely.  

A young man named Gentry Stein competed in the World Yo-Yo Contest in Prague back in August.

Gosh, they have a contest for everything, don't they?

Apparently, there were 1,000 competitors from 30 countries at the competition, so it's really a big deal. Stein, of the United States won the competition.

I found a video of Stein performing at the competition, and it's totally worth watching. Just watch the volume on the background music, though. It's kind of loud.

But who cares? See if you can do any of Stein's tricks:

Aretha Franklin Covers Adele's Rolling In The Deep. Awesome!

Aretha Franklin, 72, is out with a new album,
and covers Adele's "Rolling In The Deep."  

There's a huge divide on this one: In one corner there are people who are dismayed by Aretha Franklin's cover of Adele's "Rolling In the Deep."   

There's only a few of those.

In the other corner are the many people like me, who are floored because this is AWESOME!!

You decide. Here's the video:   (Actually, it's just a picture of Aretha, but you get to hear all of her version of "Rolling In the Deep" on it.)

Happy Puppies Swimming: Photos You HAVE To See

An underwater puppy. Photo by Seth Casteel.  

A photographer named Seth Casteel has a book out that you HAVE to see.

He took underwater photographs of puppies swimming in a pool, often for the first time.  

This is a follow up to a book two years ago that was almost as charming called "Underwater Dogs." That one had adult dogs swimming.

The puppies, of course, are even cuter than the adults. I love how Castell captured the sense of wonder as the puppies experienced the fun of swimming.

Don't worry. The puppies were never endangered by this project. They were taught to swim, and were monitored closely so they didn't get into any kind of trouble while in the water. And it looks like they all had fun, so everything is good.

Once the puppies are comfortble with the idea of swimming, Casteel let's them go at it, and he goes underwater with a waterproof camera and fires away to get these photos.

A very happy underwater puppy, photographed by
Seth Casteel.  

As in "Underwater Dogs," the book "Underwater Puppies" used a lot of dogs rescued from shelters.

"I thought, 'Hey, let's use some incredible adoptable puppy ambassadors just to show people how terrific these little guys are,'" Casteel told NPR's David Greene.

Casteel has long been an advocate of adopting dogs who need homes. He's photographed lots of shelter dogs to make them look appealing to would-be human companions and to advertise the benefits of adopting dogs.

Casteel also has a good take on why puppies are so appealing:

Yet another underwater puppy. 

"You know, puppies lift our spirits. They don't care who you are, what you've been doing, where you're going, they just want to love you and they just want to be your friend. And I think that's always going to make us feel good."    

You can buy "Underwater Puppies through Casteel's Web site, or your favorite book retailer. You can also see lots more underwater puppies, underwater dogs and other great photography at his Web site.

Hat tip to my sister Lynn for alerting me to these swimming puppies.

Let's Join The Blue Angels In Flight

Let's join this Blue Angel guy on a wild flight.  

In what has to be the coolest video of the month, let's get into the cockpit of the Blue Angels and enjoy the flight.  

The video makes me want to sign up to be one of their pilots, but then again, I can barely manage the half hour drive down Interstate 89 from St. Albans to Burlington, Vermont.

So we'll just enjoy this video together and deal with this vicariously.

Just don't get motion sickness, OK?

Your Father's Day Gift Won't Be As Good As This Guy's

Whatever you get for your father for Father's Day this year won't be as good as what one guy in Kentucky already received.  

Nice wheels: Roger King got this sweet '57 Chevy
Bel-Aire from his son, fulfilling a 49-year old promise. 

So you might as well just give your father that badly designed tie, apologize and move on.

In a video that's gone totally viral over the past week, we see Mike King surprising his father, Roger, with an early gift.

When Mike was 8, he told his dad he'd get him a 1957 Chevy Bel-Air when the dad turned 57. This year, good old dad turned 57, and like magic, in the garage, there was a 1957 Chevy Bel-Air.

Mike King said he was able to buy the car by working extra shifts at the factory which employs him. He skipped up to New Hampshire to buy the car.

Judging from the video, Roger King seemed to like the gift. Very moving.

And remember, you probably won't get your father this good a gift. But don't worry. He loves you anyway.

Happy Father's Day all you dads out there.

Here's the video of the 57 Chevy gift:

ANOTHER "Got Talent" Winning Moment: British Boys Battle Bullies

In my never ending obsession with those TV talent shows, especially the "Got Talent" franchise that seems to be in every country, I bring you a new, new favorite of mine.

Bars and Melody on "Britain's Got Talent."  

                                       
The two teen boys, who call themselves Bars and Melody, changed the lyrics Faith Evans and Twista's "Hope" to make it a powerful anti-bullying statement on "Britain's Got Talent."

Their appearance on the show made for an awesome moment and even melted Simon Cowell's cold, cold heart.

Watch:

Dreams of Summer: A Really Cool Firefly Time Lapse Video

Summer will eventually get here, it is alleged, and that will bring out those warm, lazy nights when we sit outside and watch fireflies.

One of photographer Vincent Brady's awesome
firefly images.  

Photographer Vincent Brady did that, night after night in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri and in Michigan last summer.  The result is the wonderful video you'll see at the bottom of this post.

Brady writes on Facebook:

"I was pretty strung out on fireflies through the hot and humid evenings. Though actually it was a great summer to be cruising Lake of the Ozarks on the pontoon boat under the stars while the firefly disco was absolutely raging. They are just so darn awesom and highly photogenic.

The light of the fireflies is inspiring, wondrous and just simply amazing. It's hard to do them justice trying to capture the magic with a camera, but I tried."

And succeeded.

Music in the video was specially made by Brady's friend Brandon McCoy. 

Heres the awesome video:

Check Out This Really Cool West Coast Sand Artist

So there's a guy on the West Coast named Andres Amador who gets up early in the morning, before anybody's been on the beach.  

Some really cool sand art by Andres Amador   

He tries to get there at low tide, armed with a couple of sticks and rakes of various sizes.

Amador then rushes to create these absolutely beautiful designs on the wet sand on the beach. He rushes because the rising tide will soon wash away his creations.

Talk about temporary art!

But it doesn't matter.  Amador, or other people, take photos and videos of these wonderful creation before the tide washes them away forever.

And we get to view the beautiful art that way.

Here's a video showing how he does it. Totally awesome!