A Week in the Life of Gaza – Guardian Series

We follow five ordinary people – a 12-year-old boy, a professor, a pregnant woman, a skateboarder and a grandmother – through their days, with all of the difficulty and joy that they encounter. This is what a week in the life of Gaza looks like.

‘We skate on the rooftops of damaged buildings’: a day in the life of a skateboarder in Gaza

‘First there’s the gruelling task of trying to charge my laptop’: a day in the life of a university lecturer in Gaza

‘This is where I live now, the back of a truck’: a day in the life of a grandmother in Gaza

‘I’m afraid they’ll bomb the cafe where I work, or bomb me’: a day in the life of a 12-year-old boy in Gaza

‘I lost my children, and I’m afraid of losing my baby again’: a day in the life of a pregnant woman in Gaza

Gaza: a week in the life
This series captures seven days of daily life Gaza, through the eyes of five ordinary citizens, as the war pushes deep into its third year

Hunger in Colorado – 2026 – Google AI on

Food insecurity in Colorado has surged dramatically, with a recent Colorado Health Access Survey finding that 17.8% of adults (more than 1 in 6) reported they could not afford all the food they needed. According to coverage from NPR and its local partner, Colorado Public Radio (CPR), this marks a massive jump from 10.5% during the same period in the previous year.
Local reporting highlights a “perfect storm” of economic pressures straining both Colorado families and emergency food systems:

  • Rising Costs: While general grocery prices have shown minor stabilization, specific staples like beef, fresh fruits, and vegetables have continued to outpace broader inflation categories, placing an immense burden on household budgets.
  • Federal Food Aid Cuts: Food banks have experienced severe supply drops due to a 37% reduction in available food through the federal Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Simultaneously, stricter work requirements introduced for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have cut or restricted benefits for hundreds of thousands of Coloradans.
  • Child Hunger: The crisis is hitting children especially hard, with an estimated 157,000 children (1 in 6) facing food insecurity across the state—an increase of 30,000 kids in just a year.

Principles as a Limited Durability Product – Brecht Quote

That was straightforward. Why take things in a roundabout way now? I’m packing so they shan’t take away your job as senior physician. And because they’ve stopped saying good morning to you at the clinic, and because you’re not sleeping nowadays. I don’t want you to tell me I mustn’t go. And I’m hurrying because I don’t want to hear you telling me I must. It’s a matter of time. Principles are a matter of time. They don’t last for ever, any more than a glove does. There are good ones which last a long while. But even they only have a certain life.

The Jewish Wife
Bertolt Brecht
Note –  One of the short one act plays in Fear and Misery of the Third Reich
Brecht Collected Plays: 4

The Blue Danube – André Rieu – Vienna

“The Blue Danube” (German: An der schönen blauen Donau, lit. ’By the Beautiful Blue Danube’, Op. 314) is a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866. Originally performed on 15 February 1867 at a concert of the Wiener Männergesang-Verein (Vienna Men’s Choral Association),[2] it has been one of the most consistently popular pieces of music in the classical repertoire. Its initial performance was considered only a mild success, however, and Strauss is reputed to have said, “The devil take the waltz, my only regret is for the coda—I wish that had been a success!”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue_Danube

Jimmy Page at Sears Hardware Department

In 1990 I was working in Sears in the hardware department. Some scraggly looking guy came in with a long trenchcoat and John Lennon looking glasses and hair that looked like it hadn’t been washed in probably three months. Nobody wanted to deal with him and he looked like he was poor and I started talking to him and eventually he bought a whole set of craftsman tools and a garage door opener. When it was time to pay, he handed over his Sears charge card and I looked at it and it said JAMES PAGE. He saw my reaction and I looked up and he said “Yes mate, that one.”
I couldn’t say anything… he was too cool.
He asked for a piece of of paper and all I had was a sears paper … he signed it for me. I still have it today.

Power to the People Fest

A Day of Peace, Love, Justice, and Music
Power To The People is a celebration of peace, love, justice, music and community action. Curated by Tom Morello, this one-day event at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD is about the power everyday human beings have when they come together — through music, art, community and action — to shape our country and our planet on, and beyond, Election Day.

https://powertothepeoplefest.com/

Full Metal Jacket Trivia – Joker’s Full Name

Although never spoken in the film, Private Joker’s real name is J.T. Davis (as seen on the back of his PT sweats). He was named after Specialist James T. Davis, the first U.S. casualty of the Vietnam War. He was killed in action on December 22, 1961.

I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do – ABBA

“I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do” is a song recorded by the Swedish pop music group ABBA for their eponymous third studio album (1975). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and their manager Stig Anderson, with Andersson and Ulvaeus producing. Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad sing lead vocals. It was released on 10 April 1975 as the album’s third single by Polar Music. The song takes inspiration from the European schlager music of the 1950’s to the 1970s, as well as the saxophone sound of the 1950’s American orchestra leader Billy Vaughn.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Do,_I_Do,_I_Do,_I_Do,_I_Do

Opera for the People – New York Ticket Lottery

NEW YORK – Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) Commissioner Diya Vij today announced “Opera for All,” a long-term partnership between the City and the Metropolitan Opera that will provide 70,000 free tickets this season to New Yorkers who have never attended a performance at the Met.

Beginning this month, the Met will release 10,000 tickets each month throughout the 2026-27 season, about 10% of all tickets for the season. New Yorkers can enter the monthly lottery at on.nyc.gov/opera or through the Met’s app. This season’s performances include Macbeth, Lincoln in the Bardo and La Bohème.

Mayor Mamdani Launches “Opera for All,” Bringing 70,000 Free Metropolitan Opera Tickets to New Yorkers