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

Sylvester Stallone Interview – New York Times

In the book you seem to suggest that both your parents saw your arrival as having ruined their ambitions in some way. You wrote, “Can you really make people proud who never wanted you in the first place?” And when you were very little, you were sent to go live in a boardinghouse, and your parents only visited you once a month. How did you understand that as a kid?
…
You keep using the word “tough.” But I don’t hear tough. I hear messed up.
You know, you’re right. I’m using “tough” as a masculine banner for something much more perverse and weird.

And dark. And dark.

Sylvester Stallone Hid His Struggles for Decades. Now He’s Coming Clean.

From Amazon:
The Steps: A Memoir

A gritty, inspiring, heart-wrenching memoir by the Academy Award-winning legend and icon Sylvester Stallone, about his unlikely path to stardom and the creation of the greatest underdog story ever told.

This American Life – Fan Data and Insights

I was first introduced to This American Life about a decade ago, right after the podcast, then a relatively novel media format, got sensationalized by the true crime show Serial. Only later did I find out about the shared DNA between the two shows. Life comes full circle.

Over the past thirty years, since Ira Glass started This American Life, the show has grown from a personal passion project (formerly called Your Radio Playhouse) discussing the everyday lives of ordinary Americans into one that touches millions of listeners, covering major events across the globe and making a real impact on the people its team cares about.

As the show approaches its 900th episode, every one of which I’ve listened to at least once and many more than that, I decided to dissect it and find the recipe for what makes it such a fascinating show to me and millions of others: what it talks about week over week, who has been telling these stories, what makes them so immersive to listen to, and all the real-life impact it has made. Let’s go.

https://milesmeters.com/pieces/this-american-life/

I used 3 weeks to gather data, analyze, and build a site dissecting ~900 episodes of This American Life over 30 years. As a die-hard fan of the show, some insights are as expected (e.g., themes, contributors), but some are genuinely surprising (e.g., songs & artists).

https://www.reddit.com/r/ThisAmericanLife/comments/1wk1scu/900_episodes_over_30_years_data_insights_of_this/