Entry tags:
Mostly About Virginia Elections
I still have one more entry to write regarding the IAJGS Conference, but I want to catch up on a couple of other things while they still have some relevance. I will also answer questions readers asked at some point this month.
Celebrity Death Watch - September and October 2020: I am so far behind on this that I decided I need to separate things out by somewhat more manageable chunks of time. I’ll do the rest of the catch-up in another entry.
Moshe Efrati was a choreographer, most notable for founding Kol Demama, a dance company including hearing-impaired dancers. Kevin Burns produced television documentaries. Mac Davis was a singer-songwriter, whose notable songs included “It’s Hard to Be Humble.” Helen Reddy sang the feminist anthem “I Am Woman.”
Bob Gibson pitched for the Saint Louis Cardinals. Betty Greene was a novelist, best known for Summer of My German Soldier. Mike Foster was the governor of Louisiana in the late 1990’s. Margaret Nolan was a model and actress / Bond girl. Monica Roberts was a transgender rights activist. Bunny Lee was a producer of reggae music. Johnny Nash was a singer-songwriter, best known for “I Can See Clearly Now” and “Tears on My Pillow.” Eddie Van Halen was a musician. Jim Dwyer was a columnist for Newsday and The New York Times. Conchata Ferrell was an actress, best known for her role on Two and a Half Men. Roberta McCain was a socialite and the mother of former senator, John McCain. Rhonda Fleming was an actress in the glamour queen era of the 1940’s and 1950’s. Herbert Kretzmer wrote the lyrics for Les Miserables. Paul Matters played bass for AC/DC. Ed Benguiat designed over 600 typefaces. Tom Maschler co-founded the Booker Prize. Jill Paton Walsh was a novelist. Spencer Davis was a singer and guitarist. Viola Smith was one of the first women to be a professional drummer. Jerry Jeff Walker was a singer-songwriter, well-known for Mr. Bojangles. Diane di Prima was a beat poet. Lee Kun-hee was the chairman of the Samsung Group. Travis Roy did philanthropic work after being paralyzed during his first college hockey game. Herb Adderley was a Hall of Fame football player for the Green Bay Packers. Nobby Stiles played for Manchester United. Debra Doye co-wrote a number of novels (primarily fantasy) with her husband, James D. MacDonald.
Tom Kennedy was a game show host, notable for Name That Tune.
Whitey Ford pitched for the Source of All Evil in the Universe, and won 6 World Series championships during his 16 years with them.
Joe Morgan played second base for several teams, with World Series championships with the Reds.
Bernard S. Cohen was the attorney who argued Loving vs. Virginia, the court case that struck down the Virginia law against interracial marriage.
James Randi was a magician and debunker of paranormal claims.
Marge Champion was a dancer and choreographer, probably best remembered for her extensive work with her husband, Gower.
Sean Connery was the first James Bond on film, as well as acting in a number of other movie roles.
Betty Dodson taught a lot of women how to have orgasms. She also earned me 31 ghoul pool points, because I had used a trade to put her on my list after seeing an article that she was near death.
Early Voting: I took advantage of early in-person voting and nice weather and walked over to the Providence Community Center, just under a mile from my house, to vote in late October. I had about a 40 minute wait,, which was okay. They seemed to be doing a pretty good job of social distancing and sanitizing. More importantly, there were no issues with protesters or other disrupters while I was there.
Virginia Results: I think most of my readers can figure out that I was happy that Biden and Harris won, which was never really in doubt here in Virginia. I was slightly worried about the Senatorial race, largely because the Virginia Republican Party broke with tradition and had a candidate who wasn’t completely batshit crazy. But, fortunately, Mark Warner won handily. By the way, my favorite Virginia Republican is Representative Denver Riggleman, whose name will always be unfairly associated with the phrase “Bigfoot erotica.” Actually, he is doing a good job of pushing back on the QAnon crowd, but he lost his primary so will be out of office.
I should note that my Congressional district is not competitive and Gerry Connelly won with over 71% of the votes. I was relieved that Abigail Spanberger retained her seat in a district near Richmond that is competitive.
What was disappointing is that 6 Virginia counties voted against relocating Confederate monuments that are on County Courthouse property. I can’t say I’m surprised, however.
Also, there were 4 cities / counties that approved casino gambling (subject to the Virginia Lottery Board). I’m pretty sure that the logic is that Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania all get gambling revenue from Virginias, so let’s keep the money here. I kind of miss the days when gambling was only legal in Nevada, but there’s really no going back.
By the way , most of our state elections are next year, because we have a weird election cycle. I expect the gubernatorial race to be particularly interesting.
Celebrity Death Watch - September and October 2020: I am so far behind on this that I decided I need to separate things out by somewhat more manageable chunks of time. I’ll do the rest of the catch-up in another entry.
Moshe Efrati was a choreographer, most notable for founding Kol Demama, a dance company including hearing-impaired dancers. Kevin Burns produced television documentaries. Mac Davis was a singer-songwriter, whose notable songs included “It’s Hard to Be Humble.” Helen Reddy sang the feminist anthem “I Am Woman.”
Bob Gibson pitched for the Saint Louis Cardinals. Betty Greene was a novelist, best known for Summer of My German Soldier. Mike Foster was the governor of Louisiana in the late 1990’s. Margaret Nolan was a model and actress / Bond girl. Monica Roberts was a transgender rights activist. Bunny Lee was a producer of reggae music. Johnny Nash was a singer-songwriter, best known for “I Can See Clearly Now” and “Tears on My Pillow.” Eddie Van Halen was a musician. Jim Dwyer was a columnist for Newsday and The New York Times. Conchata Ferrell was an actress, best known for her role on Two and a Half Men. Roberta McCain was a socialite and the mother of former senator, John McCain. Rhonda Fleming was an actress in the glamour queen era of the 1940’s and 1950’s. Herbert Kretzmer wrote the lyrics for Les Miserables. Paul Matters played bass for AC/DC. Ed Benguiat designed over 600 typefaces. Tom Maschler co-founded the Booker Prize. Jill Paton Walsh was a novelist. Spencer Davis was a singer and guitarist. Viola Smith was one of the first women to be a professional drummer. Jerry Jeff Walker was a singer-songwriter, well-known for Mr. Bojangles. Diane di Prima was a beat poet. Lee Kun-hee was the chairman of the Samsung Group. Travis Roy did philanthropic work after being paralyzed during his first college hockey game. Herb Adderley was a Hall of Fame football player for the Green Bay Packers. Nobby Stiles played for Manchester United. Debra Doye co-wrote a number of novels (primarily fantasy) with her husband, James D. MacDonald.
Tom Kennedy was a game show host, notable for Name That Tune.
Whitey Ford pitched for the Source of All Evil in the Universe, and won 6 World Series championships during his 16 years with them.
Joe Morgan played second base for several teams, with World Series championships with the Reds.
Bernard S. Cohen was the attorney who argued Loving vs. Virginia, the court case that struck down the Virginia law against interracial marriage.
James Randi was a magician and debunker of paranormal claims.
Marge Champion was a dancer and choreographer, probably best remembered for her extensive work with her husband, Gower.
Sean Connery was the first James Bond on film, as well as acting in a number of other movie roles.
Betty Dodson taught a lot of women how to have orgasms. She also earned me 31 ghoul pool points, because I had used a trade to put her on my list after seeing an article that she was near death.
Early Voting: I took advantage of early in-person voting and nice weather and walked over to the Providence Community Center, just under a mile from my house, to vote in late October. I had about a 40 minute wait,, which was okay. They seemed to be doing a pretty good job of social distancing and sanitizing. More importantly, there were no issues with protesters or other disrupters while I was there.
Virginia Results: I think most of my readers can figure out that I was happy that Biden and Harris won, which was never really in doubt here in Virginia. I was slightly worried about the Senatorial race, largely because the Virginia Republican Party broke with tradition and had a candidate who wasn’t completely batshit crazy. But, fortunately, Mark Warner won handily. By the way, my favorite Virginia Republican is Representative Denver Riggleman, whose name will always be unfairly associated with the phrase “Bigfoot erotica.” Actually, he is doing a good job of pushing back on the QAnon crowd, but he lost his primary so will be out of office.
I should note that my Congressional district is not competitive and Gerry Connelly won with over 71% of the votes. I was relieved that Abigail Spanberger retained her seat in a district near Richmond that is competitive.
What was disappointing is that 6 Virginia counties voted against relocating Confederate monuments that are on County Courthouse property. I can’t say I’m surprised, however.
Also, there were 4 cities / counties that approved casino gambling (subject to the Virginia Lottery Board). I’m pretty sure that the logic is that Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania all get gambling revenue from Virginias, so let’s keep the money here. I kind of miss the days when gambling was only legal in Nevada, but there’s really no going back.
By the way , most of our state elections are next year, because we have a weird election cycle. I expect the gubernatorial race to be particularly interesting.