Day: July 27, 2023

I think the world is slowly being prepared for the arrival (appearance? Unveiling?) of Aliens. I say this after glimpsing a bit of the Senate hearings and listening to the whistleblower speak. More importantly, considering the response (rather tepid don’t you think?) to the notion that USA has been collecting UAVs and biologicals since the 30s. At this point it hardly feels like a surprise. My partner blames fiction. Moreover she suspects (and now I do as well) the rollout of particular fictional elements have only aided the rollout of this new information.

We just got Marvel’s Secret Invasion. Most of our new sc-fi is about one of three basic subjects: AI, Apocalypse, Aliens. A fourth, Time Travel, should be discussed at length, but at a later time. This is about the Aliens and the growing reality of us not being the only species in the vastness of space.

Heck, I’d be shocked if we were alone in the milky way. Just recently we recognized the weird pulse (that may be a new kind of quasar) and started having to question everything we know about what is beyond. However, we also have to start thinking about the timing issue as well. We are, for all intents and purposes, circling back to major war footing–one that threatens to be a destructive presence larger than ever before. Think about all of the other major sighting periods: They all preceded huge world events/wars. I am beginning to suspect that whomever is watching us is aware of when we might really screw this up and makes a point to put eyes on the situation, so we as a species do not ruin what is a perfectly habitable planet.

Some Thoughts:

1. I will continue to follow these hearings, but the mainstreaming of this information definitely is changing the way I need to be teaching the students about information. I gotta reset my game now.

Crazy week in the sports world. Lebron’s chosen son, Bronny, suffered a cardiac arrest on the court. He lived, thankfully. However, now his entire career is in question. The good news is his dad is practically a billionaire, so he’ll be fine without basketball (financially). As I mentioned the other day, Saquon Barkley signed a one year deal loaded with incentive bonuses and 2 million guaranteed money. Also, as I alluded to in past conversations, the media ate him alive for signing… Just as they themselves fabricated the specter of him not signing. That is how it goes with the media, sadly. The 24 hr news cycle demands you have a story out of anything. Case and point: the recent series of ‘articles’ around this topic. Basically, LeBron and a few other NBA stars joked about the absurd ($774 million) contract offer to Mbappe, which he turned down. They suggested that they may find reason to take such a contract. I mean, I get the joke, but articles about the threat to the NBA are foolish. Again, he turned it down. What’s even more absurd is the $222.5 million the Saudi club, Al Hilal, paid to get the opportunity to negotiate with Mbappe. That’s a truly astonishing amount of money changing hands. Oil money is just unreal.

And he turned it down.

Thus far, Ronaldo is the only one to take the Saudi money. We can talk about the Golf money another time (because LIV won that one to be sure). Mbappe wasn’t the only one to say no. Lionel Messi also said no. Instead he followed in the footsteps of LeBron James and…

Messi hit the ground running. He’s won the first two games he’s played in. I really mean him. He won the first with a penalty kick and in the second scored two goals and two assists. Dude is getting $50-60 million annually to win those games, and he’s doing it in a place he loves… albeit for a hundred million a year less than he could have made.

Such is sports…