Elon Musk Takes On Wikipedia With AI-Generated ‘Grokipedia’—What To Know

Wikipedia co-founder reacts to Musk’s Grokipedia announcement

Arajs Kommando: The WW2 Extermination Group That Massacred Thousands | Nazi Collaborators

I have no reason to post this other than the fact that my parents were Latvian immigrants to the U.S.A. in the late 1940's and they both lived in Riga, Latvia during the time of the atrocities documented in this video.  They never spoke to me about this.  My father used to discuss these times with a fellow Latvian drinking buddy of his.  They spoke in Latvian and I heard the name Ulmanis mentioned many times.  It appeared that my father's friend liked Ulmanis and my father did not.

Btw, I wasn't fluent in Latvian because my father felt heavily discriminated against because of his immigrant status and therefore he didn't want me or my sister speaking the language.  I know a few words in Latvian, but I'm not like other Latvian children in the U.S.A. who have a full command of the language.  I've always regretted this. 

The Last In Line

From Tims Toy & More:

 Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio or simply Dio, was an American heavy metal singer-songwriter and composer. He fronted or founded numerous groups throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, and Heaven & Hell.

Though his parents were from Cortland, New York, Dio was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where his family resided for his father’s service in the U.S. Army during World War II; they soon returned to Cortland. Dio’s music career began there in 1957 as part of the Vegas Kings (later Ronnie and the Rumblers). In 1967, he formed the rock band Elf, which became a regular opening act for Deep Purple. In 1975, Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore founded the band Rainbow and hired Dio to be his lead singer where the band released three studio albums. Dio quickly emerged as one of heavy rock’s pre-eminent vocalists. In 1979, Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne as Black Sabbath‘s lead singer and appeared on three studio albums with the band which met with success: Heaven & Hell (1980), Mob Rules (1981) and Dehumanizer (1992). In 1982, he left the band to form the band Dio, with two albums certified platinum by RIAA. In 2006, he founded the band Heaven & Hell with ex-bandmate Tony Iommi. Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2009, from which he died the following year.

Dio is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal artists of all time.[5][6] He is known for popularizing the “Metal Horns“ hand gesture in metal culture and his medieval-themed song lyrics.[7][8] According to a version provided by the singer himself,[9] the act derives directly from the classic Italian apotropaic gesture, which his grandmother usually did. Dio had a powerful, versatile vocal range and was capable of singing both hard rock and lighter ballads. He was awarded the “Metal Guru Award” by Classic Rock Magazine in 2006. He was also named the “Best Metal singer” at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in 2010 and ranked as the genre’s best vocalist in 2013 by music journalist Sacha Jenkins.[10]

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

From: https://timstoyymore.wordpress.com/2020/08/01/the-last-in-line/

Uncle Don's Strange Adventures

Uncle Don's Strange Adventures, a 1936 Big Little Book, featured a story about radio host Uncle Don and his adventures with a mystery cruiser.

Uh-oh.  In my adolescence, I knew a Juvenile Judge who cruised the lake bank from North Beach northward.  

I can just imagine what "strange adventures" that "Uncle Don" has with his hands on those two boys.

Printed by Western Publishing in 1936.

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

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

John Dickert - Wikipedia

John T. Dickert (born December 6, 1962) is an American Democratic politician and was the 57th mayor of Racine, Wisconsin. He now works as the executive director of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.^[1] He was elected mayor in a 2009 special election and was re-elected twice, in 2011 and 2015. He resigned in 2017 to assume his current role.

Contents

• 1Early life
• 2Mayoralty
• 3Personal life
• 4Electoral history
  • 4.1Wisconsin Assembly (1990, 2002)
  • 4.2Racine Mayor (2009-2015)
• 5References

Early life[edit source]

Dickert's familial roots extend three generations in Racine. In 1880, his great-great grandfather arrived and started a family and small plumbing business, Dickert Brothers Plumbing Company. That business lasted more than a century.^[2] John Dickert was born December 6, 1962. He attended St. Catherine's High School and received his bachelor's degree in political science and mass communication from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse.^[3] While in college, he was elected to the La Crosse County Board of Supervisors. Dickert then worked as an intern for Congressman Les Aspin in Washington D.C. Dickert returned to Racine to serve as Congressional District Director for State Assemblyman Peter Barca. Dickert ran twice in Democratic primary elections for Wisconsin State Assembly in the 61st district against Robert Turner, but was defeated both times. Dickert became a real estate agent for Coldwell Banker in 2003 and First Weber in 2007, then ran for mayor of Racine in 2009.^[3]

Mayoralty[edit source]

Dickert and other mayors meet with President Obama in the East Room of the White House

John Dickert served as mayor from May 2009 through July 2017. He was first elected to finish the term of Gary E. Becker, who had resigned in January after being charged with six felonies.^[4] He was elected on May 5, 2009, and was inaugurated on May 19,^[5] taking over from acting Mayor Tom Friedel. After winning regular elections in August 2011 and again in August 2015, Dickert ultimately served one full term and two partial terms.^[6]

While mayor, Dickert served as president of the Urban Alliance, a group of mayors from Wisconsin’s largest metro regions, from its creation in 2011 until he was succeeded by Manitowoc mayor Justin Nickels in 2014.^[7][8] Dickert also served on the United States Conference of Mayors, primarily as Vice Chair of the Metro Economies Committee,^[9] as well as on its Mayors Water Council.^[10] Additionally, he was a member of Governor Scott Walker’s Wisconsin Coastal Management Council.^[11]

On March 27, 2017, Dickert announced his plans to resign from the mayoralty to take the position of executive director at the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, a binational group of U.S. and Canadian "mayors and local officials working to advance the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River."^[12] Dickert had previously served on the organization's board of directors, and was the chairman of the board between 2014 and 2015.^[13]

Dickert formally resigned on July 16, 2017, and Dennis Wiser, previously president of the Racine City Council, automatically became acting mayor. Democrat Cory Mason was elected Mayor of Racine, Wisconsin on November 7, 2017 after winning the special election.^[1]

Personal life[edit source]

Dickert lives in Racine with his wife and two children Riley and Eleanor.^[14]

Electoral history[edit source]

Wisconsin Assembly (1990, 2002)[edit source]

Wisconsin Assembly 61st District Election, 1990^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Primary Election
	Democratic	Robert L. Turner	2,056	46.14%
	Democratic	John Dickert	1,193	26.77%
	Republican	Roderick D. Wilhelmi	722	16.20%
	Democratic	Cathleen A. Cotter	485	10.88%
Total votes			4,456	100.0%
General Election
	Democratic	Robert L. Turner	7,232	62.09%
	Republican	Roderick D. Wilhelmi	4,415	37.91%
Total votes			11,647	100.0%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Assembly 61st District Election, 2002^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Primary Election
	Democratic	Robert L. Turner (incumbent)	3,194	52.25%
	Democratic	John Dickert	2,919	47.75%
Total votes			6,113	100.0%
General Election
	Democratic	Robert L. Turner (incumbent)	9,525	98.15%	-1.41%
		Write-ins	180	1.85%	+1.41%
Total votes			9,705	100.0%	-29.48%
	Democratic hold

Racine Mayor (2009-2015)[edit source]

Racine Mayoral Special Election, 2009^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Primary Election
	Independent	John Dickert	2,307	23.09%
	Independent	Robert L. Turner	1,671	16.73%
	Independent	Kimberly Plache	1,313	13.14%
	Independent	James Spangenberg	1,249	12.50%
	Independent	Greg Helding	1,150	11.51%
	Independent	Pete Karas	851	8.52%
	Independent	Jody Harding	658	6.59%
	Independent	Q.A. Shakoor II	414	4.14%
	Independent	Lesia Hill-Driver	161	1.61%
	Independent	Raymond Fay	148	1.48%
	Independent	Jaimie Charon	69	0.69%
Total votes			9,991	100.0%
General Election
	Independent	John Dickert	6,027	55.46%
	Independent	Robert L. Turner	4,841	44.54%
Total votes			10,868	100.0%

Racine Mayoral Election, 2011^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
General Election
	Independent	John Dickert	11,379	72.87%
	Independent	Eric Marcus	4,237	27.13%
Total votes			15,616	100.0%

Racine Mayoral Election, 2015^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
General Election
	Independent	John Dickert	5,392	54.26%
	Independent	Melvin Hargrove	4,546	45.74%
Total votes			9,938	100.0%

From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dickert

"You Do Something To Me" - Mario Lanza

Mario Lanza (born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor of Italian ancestry, and an actor and Hollywood film star of the late 1940s and the 1950s.

Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16. After appearing at the Hollywood Bowl in 1947, Lanza signed a seven-year film contract with Louis B. Mayer, the head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who saw his performance and was impressed by his singing. Prior to that, the adult Lanza had sung only two performances of an opera. The following year (1948), however, he sang the role of Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly in New Orleans.^[1]

His film début for MGM was in That Midnight Kiss (1949) with Kathryn Grayson and Ethel Barrymore. A year later, in The Toast of New Orleans, his featured popular song "Be My Love" became his first million-selling hit. In 1951, he played the role of tenor Enrico Caruso, his idol, in the biopic The Great Caruso, which produced another million-seller with "The Loveliest Night of the Year" (a song which used the melody of Sobre las Olas). The Great Caruso was the top-grossing film that year.^[2]

The title song of his next film, Because You're Mine, was his final million-selling hit song. The song went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. After recording the soundtrack for his next film, The Student Prince, he embarked upon a protracted battle with studio head Dore Schary arising from artistic differences with director Curtis Bernhardt, and was eventually dismissed by MGM.^[3]

Lanza was known to be "rebellious, tough, and ambitious."^[4] During most of his film career, he suffered from addictions to overeating and alcohol which had a serious effect on his health and his relationships with directors, producers and, occasionally, other cast members. Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper writes that "his smile, which was as big as his voice, was matched with the habits of a tiger cub, impossible to housebreak." She adds that he was the "last of the great romantic performers".^[5] He made three more films before dying of an apparent pulmonary embolism at the age of 38. At the time of his death in 1959 he was still "the most famous tenor in the world".^[6] Author Eleonora Kimmel concludes that Lanza "blazed like a meteor whose light lasts a brief moment in time".<sup>[7]

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Lanza</sup>

"Gaslighting"

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"Gaslighting or gas-lighting is a form of mental abuse in which a victim is manipulated into doubting their own memory, perception, and sanity.^[1][2] Instances may range from the denial by an abuser that previous abusive incidents ever occurred, up to the staging of bizarre events by the abuser with the intention of disorienting the victim.

"The term owes its origin to the 1938 play Gas Light and its film adaptations. The term has been used in clinical and research literature.^[3][4]"
 

Ingrid Bergman in the 1944 film Gaslight

 

 

  
^{Read more:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting}