Thursday 1/6/22
Celebrate National Bean, Cuddle Up, Shortbread, Technology, Apple Tree, and Smith Day. (see today's Useless Fact of the Day)
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Today is also Epiphany, also Three Kings Day. The word "epiphany" comes from a Greek word meaning "to appear." Today commemorates the visit of the Magi to baby Jesus. (It also means you can now take down your tree.)
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Move over Omicron and "Flurona": France has reported a new variant named “IHU,” which may harbor as many as 46 mutations. The variant has so far infected 12 patients in southeastern France, with the first linked to a fully-vaccinated person who had just traveled from Cameroon. IHU is currently being monitored to assess how infectious or dangerous it could be.
(I thought we were doing Greek Letters..the next should have been Pi, Rho, or Sigma. This is more like an acronym for "I Hate You.")
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The Washington Football Team will reveal its permanent new name on February 2. The team finally dropped the name "Redskins" in 2020 after years of critics complaining it was offensive. Now the social media crowd is trying to guess whether we'll be cheering for the Armada, Presidents, Commanders, or something else next.
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Chris Evans, you know, Captain America is about to show his range as he plays Gene Kelly in a yet-to-be-titled film. (oh I hope they mention Xanadu.)
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Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and continued controversy surrounding the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, this year's Golden Globe Awards will be a totally different experience.
The HFPA announced that the ceremony -- traditionally the kickoff moment of awards season -- will be held with no audience and no red carpet. Only "select members and grantees" of the HFPA will be in the room, under strict COVID protocols, as the winners are announced at the Beverly Hilton on Sunday -- though the HFPA's press release made no mention of how this year's nominees and winners will be involved in the ceremony itself.
It's also still unclear where you can watch them since NBC is not airing them like they have in the past.
Speaking of award shows, As expected, the Grammy Awards have been postponed due to coronavirus-related concerns, an Academy spokesperson has confirmed to Variety. No new date has been confirmed as of yet.
While the 2022 show had been moving full speed ahead to take place on Jan. 31 before a full audience at its traditional venue, the recent Covid-19 surge has caused the postponement or cancellation of multiple events across the country. Sources tell Variety that even though the Crypto.com Arena has a basketball or hockey game or a concert booked nearly every night until mid-April, enough artists and executives voiced reluctance about appearing to convince the Academy to postpone the show.
Sources close to the situation also tell Variety that the show will probably move to April or May
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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - Today is National Smith Day. Honoring all the people with the surname Smith as well as names with Smith in them. Not counting the variations of the name, almost three million people in the United States have the surname Smith, and it is the most common English-speaking name in the world. "Smith" means "worker."
Today's date was chosen because Captain John Smith was born on the date in 1580. He led the colonists who settled in Jamestown in 1607 and undoubtedly was one of the first Smiths to live in America.
It also happens to be the birthday of Jedediah Strong Smith, who was born in 1799 in Bainbridge, New York. He was one of the first explorers of the American West; he is believed to have been the first American to get to California by land, and he helped start the Oregon Trail. (before most likely dying from dysentery.)
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Check out this briefing now on the web at https://bribriny.wixsite.com/brianbriefing
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