By Marcus McGee June 14, 2021
In the News…
Daily Snapshot
I’ve never been a late sleeper, no matter what time I get to bed. On a normal day, I’m up at 5:00, and I spend the first two hours reading the news for the day from at least four sources. I guess my reading is not “fair and balanced,” because there are media sources that I don’t consider news, on both sides. Journalistic integrity, methods and standards matter, so rather than listening to blowhards and chicanery from media barkers in equal parts, I prefer “sane and sensible.” It doesn’t take a journalist or a trained analyst to know the difference. And while I realize that a story can’t be shared without a subtle opinion, editorial or otherwise, no one appreciates being told how to think or feel about an event or development for a political end or for propaganda purposes. I realize, however, that I am not without my own biases.
When I read the news, I am looking for new concepts and ideas for stories, examining the “what is” with the “what if…” in mind. “There is nothing new under the sun,” and it’s a waste of time to imagine re-creating or perfecting the wheel. All the great ideas are already there… in the news, if you have worked to developed your imagination.
So what’s in the news today, Monday, June 14, 2021? And specifically for content creators? Well, the U.S. is trying to figure a way to deal with ongoing Ransomware attacks, where computer hackers are breaching the protocols of huge companies’ security systems and shutting down the companies’ abilities to do business unless paid a huge ransom in Bitcoin or some other crypto currency. Colonial Pipeline paid $4.4 million and JBS (U.S. beef supplier) paid $11 million. McDonald’s and the Teamsters Union have also been attacked. There are more than a few creative projects that could emerge from this news, with all the money, the intrigue, the betrayals, the sub-plots and the surprise twists and turns along the journey.
Then there’s the status of Covid-19 vaccinations in the U.S. and the world, along with the concern about more contagious and dangerous Delta variant: 20.7% of the world population has received at least one does of the vaccine, 0.8% of people in low income countries have received the same. In the U.S., 52.8 of the population has received at least one shot. And while the coronavirus is in decline for most of the country, some states, including Alabama, Florida, Texas, Wyoming, Colorado and Washington are reporting increases in new cases, with Florida recording 441 deaths in the last week. What would happen if a profoundly more deadly variant emerged and swept through populations and pockets of unvaccinated families? It would be a horrible and arguably avoidable tragedy, but incredible stories would emerge. Yet praying nothing like that would ever happen, the potential stories could be told anyway. What if?…
Christa Pike is a woman on Tennessee’s death row who is set to be executed for a murder (with torture) conviction from a 1995 case. She had two accomplices, Tadaryl Shipp, who was also involved in the murder of Colleen Slemmer, and Shadolla Peterson, who served as lookout. Pike, who was 18, was sentenced to death, while Shipp, then 17, was sentenced to life (eligible for parole in 2028), and Peterson got a six-year probation sentence. Pike’s lawyers cite that she was abused/neglected as a child, was born with brain damage and raped twice as a child. Maybe there is story there, and maybe the story will inspire a character or a novel story in fiction?
The heat is on in the West. Headlines: Climate change is making Rocky Mountain forests more flammable now than at any time in the past 2,000 years; and Farmers abandon crops, Utah residents asked to pray for rain amid record hot weather in parts of the US; and Potentially deadly heat wave to shatter records across the Southwest; and Across US West, drought arriving dangerously early. Predicted temperatures: Sacramento – 110°, Los Angeles – 100°, Las Vegas 117°, Death Valley 127°. Heat, drought and huge populations. The potential for problems, solutions and innovations are endless, and the potential for engaging, riveting stories is there.
The world’s largest family head, Ziona Chana, 76, died in his native Indian village of Baktawng Tlangnuam. This man had 39 wives, 94 children, 33 grandchildren and one great grandchild. They all lived together in a 100-room, four-story mansion. He was a construction worker with a strong back, but he was also the head of a polygamous Christian religious sect. Apparently, he had his wives on a rotating system for sharing his bed (circa 10 blessed nights each year!). Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear the story from one of his wives’ point-of-view?