Good Morning Michael 🏆

 

How was he ever supposed to play wide receiver for the L.A. Rams if nobody passed him

 the stupid football, for crying out loud?

Public Secrets

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Los Angeles Rams Win Super Bowl LVI

Los Angeles Rams, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Los Angeles Rams won't have to travel far to enjoy a celebratory Super Bowl victory parade.

NPR

Brazil's Amazon rainforest is burning

Dobie pulled a smashed sandwich out of his bag, 

looked up at the towering columns of smoke and flame. 

“Biggest I’ve ever seen.”

“She’s a romper,” Rowan agreed, “but you know what they say 

about Alaska. 

Everything’s bigger. 

Fuel up. We’ve got a long way to go.”

Chasing Fire 

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Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=187196

Fires are raging at a record rate in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, and scientists warn that it could strike a devastating blow to the fight against climate change.

The fires are burning at the highest rate since the country's space research center, the National Institute for Space Research (known by the abbreviation INPE), began tracking them in 2013, the center said Tuesday.

CNN

Nora could've written this script... 🤨

He took her hands at the wrists and removed them from where she clutched at his throbe. 

"She is a member of the House of Jaquir. The fact that your blood runs through her veins is 

only more reason for her to be separated and properly trained before her 

betrothal to Kadeem al-Misha."

"Betrothal?" Wild with fear, Phoebe clutched at him again. "She's only a child. 

Even in Jaquir you don't marry off children."

"She will be married on her fifteenth birthday. The arrangements are nearly complete. 

Then she will at last be of some use to me as the wife of an ally."

Sweet Revenge

_________________________

Princess Haya, daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan, 
applied Tuesday for protective orders using laws intended to 
safeguard victims of forced marriage and domestic abuse. 
The forced marriage protection was for her children.


TIME

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"Can't." Phoebe leaned against the stall door and waited for the nausea to pass. 
"We can't ever go back. He was going to send you away, baby."

"Away? "

"To Germany." With an unsteady hand Phoebe found a handkerchief and dried
her damp face. "I won't let him send you away, to marry you off to a man 
who could be like him." Steadier, Phoebe knelt and wrapped her arms 
around her daughter. "I won't see you live your life the way 
I've had to live mine. It would kill me."

Sweet Revenge

Video shows a huge bolt of lightning strike a sailboat

She called the storm. The gales of wind, the

bolts of lightning, the rage of the sea that 

was both prison and protection.

Heaven and Earth

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A passerby recorded a bolt of lightning striking a boat docked in South Boston in a video obtained by CNN affiliate WFXT.

The owner wasn't on the boat and no one was hurt.

CNN

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“I imagined it, and almost before I realized, 

a bolt of light shot out of the sky. A black bolt of light,

barbed like an arrow. I sank Zack’s boat,” she said with a weak smile.

“Nobody was in it, but they could have been. He could have been, and I

wouldn’t have been able to stop it. No control, just anger.”

Heaven and Earth

Nora could've written this script... oh, wait... 😉

"You want to go back."

Phoebe didn't hear the fear, only her own regrets. 

"It's a long way back, Addy. Too far. When I married Abdu

 I left it all behind. 

More than I understood then." 

Sweet Revenge

____________________

TMF95 [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

After Break-Up With Billionaire Ruler, Dubai Princess Flees With Kids

Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, the sixth wife of Dubai's billionaire ruler,
has reportedly fled the United Arab Emirates with their two children
following the break-up of their marriage.

News18

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 "I want you to be happy, darling. Happy and safe. That's all that matters."

"I like being here with you." Despite all the cookies and tea and lemonade at the couturier's

 she was hungry, but she didn't want to say so. "There is so much to see. 

When you told me about places like this, I thought you were making up stories. It's better than a story."

Phoebe opened her eyes to stare out the window. They were driving along the river in the most romantic city in the world. 

Recklessly, she lowered the glass and drew in a deep breath. 

"There, Addy, do you smell it?"

Laughing, Adrianne leaned closer, like a puppy, to let the breeze race against her face. 

"The water?"

"The freedom," Phoebe murmured. 

"I want you to remember this moment."

Sweet Revenge

🏳️‍🌈

Intrigued, Riley angled her head. “Are there gay merpeople?”

“Oh, yes. We’re very happy.”

“No, I mean— Are you, or some of you, attracted to the same sex? Can you mate with

someone of the same sex?”

“Of course—differently because of the body, and there will be no young created, but

you want who you want, yes? Love who you love?”

“Cheers to that.” Riley picked up her Bellini.

“Is one of the rules you cannot?”

“We’re eliminating that rule. Slower in some places, but we’re working on it.”

Bay of Sighs

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Pride Day: Google celebrates 50 years of LGBTQ community with a doodle

The month of June is observed as the Pride month every year

Google on Tuesday honoured the 50 long years of Pride with an interactive video, visualising 50 years of parades.

The Doodle illustrates five decades of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) history starting from 1969 till 2019.

Business Standard

Nora could've written this script... wait... 😉

Claremont took out his notepad and set the rhythm. 
"You said you and Margaret Bowers dated."

"No, I didn't. I said we went out a couple of times."

"That's generally interpreted as dating."

"I didn't interpret it that way. I interpreted it as we went out a couple of times."

"You were supposed to have dinner with her on the night she died."

"Yeah." There'd be no expression and no condemnation in Claremont's voice. 
But it still stung.

The Villa

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By che - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=889848

Ashton Kutcher 'freaked out' after date found killed, Los Angeles court told

Actor testifies at trial of ‘Hollywood Ripper’, who is charged with murder of 
Ashley Ellerin in 2001

The Guardian 

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“But he’d moved out. I’m just saying where there’s smoke . . .”
“Where there’s smoke sometimes means someone else started the fire.”


Whiskey Beach

Refugee children see snow for first time

The world her mother told her of from time to time was nothing

more than a fairy tale to her. Snow was just something

that danced inside a little glass ball.

Sweet Revenge 

________________

Footage of two Eritrean children enjoying their first snowfall in Canada has been viewed millions of times on social media. 

The 42-second clip, taken by Rebecca Davies, shows the boy and girl jumping in their oversized jackets as the snowflakes come down.

Dancing around the back garden of their Toronto home, the appear to marvel at the sight. 

INDEPENDENT

________________

Adrianne thought of the little glass ball and her brother. 

All at once she wanted to lay her head in her mother's  lap and weep. She wanted to go home, to see her  grandmother and her aunts,to smell the smells of the harem. 

But there was no going back.

"Will it snow?" she asked.

"Sooner or later."

Sweet Revenge

An unlikely hero for an all-time great Team

"What do you want to be when you grow up, Lance?" 
She turned back to him, and the wind caught and pulled at her free curls. 
Her eyes were speared with laughter.

"Starting pitcher for the Red Sox."

The Heart's Victory

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By Shamblesuk at English Wikipedia - Own work, GFDL, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22037361

Baseball has a way. So often it manages, among the likes of J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts, to hone in for a few days on the most unlikely guy on the team and turn him into Babe Ruth.

Baseball has a way of saying, “Steve Pearce, come here. You’re going to win the World Series for your team.”

YAHOO!

__________________________

"Blackhawk, baseball is life."


Night Shield

Red Sox blast 'New York, New York'

In his easy way, Joe picked up the basket of biscuits, offered it to the boy. “Oh, yeah, Mr. New York. Yankees or Mets?”

“Yankees.”

“Not a prayer.” As if in sympathy, Joe shook his head. “Not this year, kid.”

“We’ve got a strong infield, good bats. Sir,” he added as if he’d just remembered to.

“Baltimore’s already killing you.”

“It’s a fluke. They died last year, and they’ll fade this year.”

“When they do, the Red Sox will pounce.”

“Crawl maybe.”

“Oh, a smart-ass.”

Black Hills

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By Waz8 [CC0], from Wikimedia Commons

The Boston Red Sox can "Name That Tune" in one note, or so it seems, as they had the last word in musical taunting after knocking the New York Yankees out of the postseason in front of the home crowd at Yankee Stadium.

As the champagne bottles were popping in the Red Sox locker room after their 4-3 American League Division Series Game 4 clincher Tuesday night, the background music was Frank Sinatra singing "New York, New York," the song that echoes around Yankee Stadium after every game.

ESPN

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The batter dropped a short single into left field, and she grabbed Thorpe's arm. "Oh, look, he hit one!"
"That's the wrong team, Liv," Thorpe pointed out wryly. "We're rooting for the other guys."
She accepted the hot dog and peeled off a corner on the packet of mustard. "Why?"
"Why?" he repeated, watching as she squeezed the mustard on generously. "The Orioles are from Baltimore. The Red Sox are from Boston."
"I like Boston." Liv took a healthy bite of the hot dog as Palmer whipped a mean curve by the next batter. "Shouldn't he have swung at that one?"
"Don't like Boston too loudly in this section," Thorpe advised.


Endings and Begginings

...rain kept him from mowing the lawn...

“How then? Robbing banks, dealing drugs, selling your body?”

“All viable options, but no. I won the lottery.”

“Get out. Really?” Delighted, fascinated, she lifted her glass in toast before stretching out

a hand for a pretzel.

“Yeah, just a fluke. Or, you know, destiny, again depending. I picked up a ticket now and

then. Actually, hardly ever. Then one day I went in for a six-pack of Corona, sprang for a

ticket.”

High Noon

She shook her head, gaped at him. “You won a hundred and thirty eight million dollars on

a lottery ticket?”

“Yeah, go figure. Best six-pack I ever bought.”

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By Archives New Zealand from New Zealand - Golden Kiwi Tickets, CC BY-SA 2.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51250753

A Virginia man credits mother nature and an abandoned day of landscaping with his $10 million lottery jackpot win. 

Charles Martin of Amelia Courthouse told the Virginia Lottery he got home from work on a recent evening and began to mow the lawn but had his efforts stopped short when it began to rain.

Inside

Hug . Love . Kiss . your loved ones. Everyday.

Theo and Maddy sprang from opposite doors of the limo. The rush of emotion had him dropping his briefcase as he lunged toward them. He grabbed Maddy with his good arm, then had a line of pain spurting through his shoulder as he tried to hug Theo. "Sorry, bad wing."

When Theo kissed him, surprise and pleasure flustered him. He couldn't remember the last time this boy, this young man, had done so. "God, I'm glad to see you." He pressed his lips to his daughter's hair, leaned into his son. "So glad to see you."

"Don't ever do that again." Maddy kept her face pressed against his chest. She could smell him, feel his heart beat. "Not ever again."

"That's a deal. Don't cry, baby. Everything's okay now."

Afraid he was going to blubber as well, Theo pulled himself back, cleared his throat. 

The Villa

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By Frankie Fouganthin (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 

(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

“Him and I had never really connected and now it’s like a whole new relationship,” Sam Zeif said. “I have this unreal appreciation for him that I never felt before and it’s amazing because I never realized how life could take him away from me. I never thought we could be in a situation where we would have to worry about that.”

YAHOO!

__________________

Nearly blind with terror and relief, David bolted out of the house. Even as the police car braked, he scooped Maddy out, held her cradled in his arms as he would a baby.

"You're okay." He pressed his lips to her cheeks, her hair. Breathed her in, as the shakes he'd held off since the call took over. 

"You're okay." He said it a half dozen times as she curled into him.

"I'm all right. I'm not hurt or anything." But when she wrapped her arms around his neck, her world came all the way right again. "Sophie drove like one of those guys you and Theo like to watch on the raceway. It was kinda cool."

"Kinda cool. Yeah." Rocking now, calming himself, he kept his face buried in the curve of her throat while Theo awkwardly patted her back.

"Bet it was some ride." Theo manfully swallowed the prickly lump in his throat. There was a jittering inside his chest that came as much from seeing his father break apart as from anxiety over Maddy. 

The Villa

With his eyes half-closed, he imagined… the endless sweep of stars, the pure black of space, the beautiful symmetry of orbiting moons and planets. "Don't you ever think about the worlds up there, just out of reach?"

 There was the vastness of space, seductive and compelling. 
There were stars, clusters of them, and what was surely a distant planet. 
There was a blackness, an absolute blackness, that spread for miles. 
The ship seemed to be hurtling toward it. 


Time Was

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He believed in chance, in the purest sense of the word—the unpredictable possibility of existence.
 He was here now to prove it. In addition to his calculations, 
the technology at his command, his knowledge and his computations, 
he needed one element that any explorer required for success. 
Luck. 
He was alone now in the vast, silent sea of space, beyond the traffic patterns, 
beyond the last charted quadrant. There was an intimacy here between man and his dreams 
that could never be achieved in a laboratory. 

Times Change

'I've Seen It All'

She was a legend. A product of time and talent and her own unrelenting ambition. Eve Benedict. Men thirty years her junior desired her. Women envied her. Studio heads courted her, knowing that in this day when movies were made by accountants, her name was solid gold. 

Genuine Lies

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By Damion Matthews - Originally uploaded to en.wikipedia as 

Image:Stone1.JPG (all linking to en.wikipedia):

08:42, 5 May 2005 Damion (Talk / contribs) uploaded "Image:Stone1.JPG"

(Sharon Stone speaking in San Francisco, April 24, 2004. 

Photo copyright, Damion Matthews. Courtesy of Damion Matthews.), 

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=698293

“You’re laughing, but I don’t know if that’s a nervous laugh or an ‘Are-you-kidding-me-of-course-I-was’ laugh?” Lee Cowen asked.

Without giving any specifics, the actress, 59, said she’s “seen it all” throughout her decades-long career.

YAHOO!

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She is flawed, of course. Where there is generosity, there is also selfishness. Where there is kindness, there is also a careless disregard for feelings. She can be abrupt, cool, callus, rude—human. The flaws make the woman off the screen as fascinating and vital as any woman she has played on it. Her strength is awesome. It is in her eyes, her voice, in every gesture of her disciplined body. Life, it seems, is a challenge, a role she has agreed to play with great verve—and one in which she takes no direction. Any miscues or broken scenes are her responsibility. She blames no one. Beyond the talent, the beauty, that rich, smoky voice or sharp intelligence, she is to be admired for her unflagging sense of self.

Genuine Lies