Jack White and the Masonic Bench

From Hailey Bollinger's 4-22-20 CityBeat article entitled "Jack White Reupholsters Masonic Bench as Gift to The Lodge's Masonic Sounds Studio in Dayton, Kentucky":

You're most likely familiar with Garage Rocker Jack White and his singular voice from his leading role in well-known bands The White Stripes and The Raconteurs. And while his musical career may be what introduced you to the man of many talents, you'll be pleased to discover (if you haven't already) he's also a master upholsterer. 

One of White's most recent projects is a vintage masonic bench, which he restored — and added a bit of creative flair to in the form of a built-in amplifier — as a gift to Johnny Wirick's Masonic Sounds Studio inside of Dayton, Kentucky's The Lodge, a century-old Masonic Lodge that has been renovated into a bustling arts hub over the past decade. 

We chatted with Wirick via email to learn about his relationship with White and more about the one-of-a-kind bench. 

Wirick, a Punk Blues Rock guitarist who also goes by the name Johnny Walker, is a member of The Soledad Brothers and most recently the All-Seeing Eyes (among many other bands). He met White while playing in dive clubs throughout Toledo and Detroit and the two connected through music — practicing guitar and teaching each other, experimenting with recording, seeing bands play [...].

According to Wirick, the Masonic bench that was used in White's gift to him was a surprise over a year in the making. Wirick says the bench was from a Blue Lodge (a certain type of Masonic lodge) and was originally found with blue material.

"It holds all kinds of secrets that I can't tell you about. Some I probably don't know myself," Wirick says. 

To read the entire article, click HERE.

"Trump Pushed QAnon and 4chan-created Conspiracy Theories"

From Ben Collins, Brandy Zadrozny and Jane C. Timm's 1-4-21 NBC News report entitled "Trump Pushed QAnon and 4chan-created Conspiracy Theories in Georgia Call":

President Donald Trump cataloged a series of false conspiracy theories during an hourlong call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Saturday in which he sought to overturn the state's election results, and they were familiar to anyone following the far fringes of the internet.

Trump floated fragments of several baseless conspiracy theories that were primarily pushed by QAnon followers over the last two months, including a widely debunked theory about voting machines from Dominion Voting Systems.

The wide-ranging slew of theories, spawned on extremist forums like 4chan, were repeatedly referred to by Trump as “rumors” that are “trending on the internet.” He claimed they were reasons Raffensperger should “re-examine it [the election] with people that want to find answers.”

And while Trump has embraced conspiracy theories for much of his tenure as president, Saturday's call offered a look at just how much he is now relying on some of the most outlandish theories from obscure corners of the internet to make his case for election fraud.

"Trump manages to distill down to a 10-minute monologue what would take the average person years to pull together,” said Joan Donovan, research director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Donovan noted that many of the baseless claims floated by the president have been embraced in recent weeks by pro-Trump media.

“Everything from fakes, forgeries and machine hacking to collusion across parties, it's all laid out in detail with rapid fluidity,” Donovan said, noting the conspiracy theories laid out in the call “are very popular on right-wing media like Parler and Newsmax.”

Trump “pulled together all the major talking points,” Donovan said.

To read the entire report, click HERE.

Mysterious Loud Booms

From Hayley Fixler's 1-4-21 FOX 8 News report entitled "Mysterious Loud Booms Shake Local Homes":

Hundreds of people called into the Forsyth County [North Carolina] 911 center this weekend, reporting that they felt an explosion.

The dispatch center was overwhelmed with calls. 

Those four loud “booms” were heard both Saturday and Sunday in different areas in the Triad. The source is still a mystery.

“[We’re] Lewisville and there was just... just now two huge explosions,” said one person who called into the 911 center in Forsyth County. 

“We’re all out here. The whole neighborhood felt two large booms,” said another caller.

The explosion noises were heard and felt across different parts of Forsyth, Guilford, Rockingham, Surry, Davie, Stokes and Randolph Counties. 

“The fourth time, I was like ‘oh my lord,” recalled Randolph County resident Donna Greene. “I was beside it, and it rattled. It rattled the fireplace.”

It rattled her too. 

The “booms” broke the Saturday night silence and then again on Sunday afternoon.

“I didn’t hear about the Saturday booms until I made the [Facebook] post. [People] said they were hearing it in this area on Saturday too,” said Faye Potts, who lives in Reidsville. “[My neighbors] said they could hear it as well. It rattled the dishes.”

The mystery sound shocked a lot of people across the Triad as they tried to guess what those noises could be.

“I assumed it was tannerite or something,” Potts said.

“I’m thinking it was military doing maneuvers. I really do think that,” Greene said.

Even the experts don’t have a concrete explanation....

To read the entire report, click HERE.

"It's Going to Be Wild"

From Jaclyn Diaz's 1-4-21 NPR report entitled "In Op-Ed, 10 Ex-Defense Secretaries Say Military Has No Role In Election Dispute":

The U.S. presidential election, and the time for questioning its results, are over, all 10 living former secretaries of defense wrote in a forceful op-ed published on Sunday.

"Our elections have occurred. Recounts and audits have been conducted. Appropriate challenges have been addressed by the courts. Governors have certified the results. And the electoral college has voted," the 10 men from both Republican and Democratic administrations wrote.

"The time for questioning the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the electoral college votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and statute, has arrived," they said.

The bipartisan group of leaders published the letter in The Washington Post as President Trump continues to deny his election loss to President-elect Joe Biden. On Saturday, during a one-hour phone call, Trump even pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" votes to overturn his defeat [...].

The 10 signatories made it clear that any effort to involve U.S. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take the country "into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory."

They wrote, "Civilian and military officials who direct or carry out such measures would be accountable, including potentially facing criminal penalties, for the grave consequences of their actions on our republic."

Former Defense Secretary Perry, who served under President Bill Clinton, wrote on Twitter that the idea for the statement originated with [Dick] Cheney, a Republican who served under President George W. Bush as vice president and President George H.W. Bush as secretary of defense [...].

[William] Cohen, who represented Maine as a Republican U.S. senator for almost 20 years, said he is concerned Trump is attempting to promote civil unrest as justification to deploy military forces in the streets.

"There are things taking place which pose, I think, a threat to our domestic tranquility and security, and that is the president encouraging some of the more right-wing extremists to march on Washington and to protest," Cohen said. "And the indication is he's urging them to - it's going to be wild."

To read the entire article, click HERE.

Hawaiian UFO

From Allyson Blair's 12-31-20 HAWAII NEWS NOW article entitled "FAA Notified After Large Blue UFO Seen Above Oahu Appeared to Drop Into Ocean":

An unidentified flying object spotted in the evening sky over Leeward Oahu prompted witnesses to call 911 on Tuesday.

The sighting happened about 8:30 p.m.

There are multiple videos of what appears to be a glowing‚ oblong mass — both in the sky and in the water.

Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration say there were no aircraft incidents or accidents in this area at the time. But multiple witnesses reported seeing a large blue object fall out of the sky and into the ocean.

In a one video a woman can be heard saying, “Something is in the sky. What is that?”

Misitina Sape told Hawaii News Now she captured the image at 8:26 p.m. near Haleakala Avenue in Nanakuli.

Not long after, a woman named Moriah spotted what looked like the same object passing over Princess Kahanu Estates....

To read the entire article, click HERE.

“Well, Mr. President, the Challenge That You Have Is, the Data You Have Is Wrong”

From Amy Gardner's 1-3-21 WASHINGTON POST article entitled "'I Just Want to Find 11,780 Votes': In Extraordinary Hour-long Call, Trump Pressures Georgia Secretary of State to Recalculate the Vote in His Favor":

President Trump urged fellow Republican Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state, to “find” enough votes to overturn his defeat in an extraordinary one-hour phone call Saturday that legal scholars described as a flagrant abuse of power and a potential criminal act.

 

The Washington Post obtained a recording of the conversation in which Trump alternately berated Raffensperger, tried to flatter him, begged him to act and threatened him with vague criminal consequences if the secretary of state refused to pursue his false claims, at one point warning that Raffensperger was taking “a big risk.”

 

Throughout the call, Raffensperger and his office’s general counsel rejected Trump’s assertions, explaining that the president is relying on debunked conspiracy theories and that President-elect Joe Biden’s 11,779-vote victory in Georgia was fair and accurate.

 

Trump dismissed their arguments.

 

“The people of Georgia are angry, the people of the country are angry,” he said. “And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, that you’ve recalculated.”

 

Raffensperger responded: “Well, Mr. President, the challenge that you have is, the data you have is wrong.”

To read the entire article, click HERE.

To read the complete transcript of the call between Trump and Raffensperger, click HERE.

BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD on Netgalley!

Attention, book reviewers! A new batch of Crossroad Press titles (including my forthcoming novel, BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD) will be live on Netgalley for reviewers to choose during the entire month of January. It's free to get an account if you don't already have one. Among these releases are novels and anthologies featuring the writings of Kathe Koja, Elizabeth Massie, Nick Mamatas, John Skipp, Craig Spector, and many others! Click HERE for more info!