What On Earth?-Column #50, July 2006

Here we are in July. This is the month where we celebrate our independence from Britain. It occured 230 years ago this month on July 4, 1776 (the date inscribed on a tablet held by Lady Liberty). As we think about how long we've come since that historic date, it's an important thing to celebrate an important day. From flags to fireworks, batons to boomers, parades to pyrotechnics; we have a lot to be proud of when we wave the Red White and Blue.

First category in this 50th column of WOE? is WEATHER, a category I generally don't use in my columns, but I have to this time. I'd like to start with an American phenomenon that occurs every year at this time: THE HEAT. The Northern part of the country has also joined in with the heat, and while some temperatures can hit 100 or more, the northern part of the country usually has upper 90's. If you have to be outside, take it easy and drink plenty of fluids and put on plenty of sunscreen. Pennsylvanians know how much rain they got last month with all those floods. Yeah, we need the rain. But, just how much is too much? Also, hurricane season is back in full swing. While many Louisiana residents are cleaning up after Katrina and Rita, they realize it's hard to put their lives back together after such devastating storms.

Next category is NEWS. The gas prices are going out of control, causing people like you and me to park those cars and head for the buses and trains. When I rode the bus home from school, it only cost me a dollar. Luckily, I had a bus pass that paid those dollars for me. I think it's a good reason to use public transportation at this time of the year, especially with all the heat. Another thing that has gone out of control is the War In Iraq. As the violence continues, so does the death toll, which; to anyone's surprise, has passed 2500.

Also, this month marks 10 years since the crash of TWA Flight 800. Midway through its flight from NY's JFK International to Paris, the plane exploded and crashed into Long Island, killing 230 people on board. The aircraft was flying more than eight miles off the coast of East Moriches, New York (on Long Island) when the plane's center wing fuel tank exploded. The aircraft developed cracks around the nose as a consequence of the explosion, and the front part of the aircraft broke off (including the cockpit and first class section). The left wing ruptured, and the leaking fuel from the left wing tank ignited in the air, triggering a second explosion. Without the weight of the nose, the aft (back) section of the plane began to ascend, leading many eyewitness who saw the flaming aft section flying upwards to think they had seen a missile and or contrail. The rest of the plane continued to fly for another 30 seconds until it lost momentum and went into a dive. Both pieces of TWA 800 splashed down into the Atlantic Ocean, and some debris burned on the surface of the ocean. Even 10 years later, some may think that a bomb brought down the aircraft. But even 10 years later and an ongoing investigation is giving us more detail in what happened. But then again, we'll never know!

Next category is SPORTS. The Dallas Mavericks did make it to the NBA Finals last month. About time. Many were hoping for the team to bring their first NBA Championship trophy home to Dallas (like the Stars did with the Stanley Cup in '99, and the Cowboys did with the Super Bowl about 5 times). Unfortunately, in a last ditch effort to force a Game 7 in the NBA Finals, they lost in Game 6, giving the Miami Heat their first NBA title ever.

Next category is GAME SHOWS. As many of you should know by now, it was two years ago that Ken Jennings (a software engineer from Salt Lake City, UT) made a household name when he took the new "Sky's The Limit" rule change on Jeopardy! to a whole new level. THIS MONTH marks the 1-year anniversary where he sets a new one-day record of $75,000 on the end of Season 20, bringing his total to over $1.3 million (3 times he tied the previous record of $52,000 set by Brian Weikle, who'd go on to win $149,600 and a car in his 5 days in Season 19, the last season before the big rule change, which allowed for players to keep going as long as they keep winning). But that winning streak wasn't over yet. Ohhh, Nooo. That left viewers hanging until September to see what would happen. And I'll talk more about this in another column. But for now, I'll tell you how he got to the $75,000. He had $51,400 at the end of Double Jeopardy! on the final day of Season 20. The Final Jeopardy! category was "Shakespeare". The clue: 2 of the 4 Shakespeare plays in which ghosts appear on stage. The correct question was: "Who are Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and/or Richard III?" We could care less what his competition put down, because this show, in particular, was all about Ken; right? Yes. He was the only one to get it right anyway, so we knew he was going boost his total. And by how much? $23,600. That boosted the total to $75,000; and to date, that is the HIGHEST one-day win on ANY Jeopardy! episode.

The new season of Lingo is starting to get everyone in the mood to WATCH (W-A-T-C-H) and PARTY (P-A-R-T-Y). And rightfully so, especially with the new progressive jackpot, starting at $10,000 and going up by $1,000 till it's won. Remember, you can only win it on the first draw in Bonus Lingo. All subsequent draws are for $5,000 (or the winning team just ends up with the $100/word they get in the 2-minute spelling portion).

Final category is Music. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the debut of the Go-Go's. Their debut album "Beauty & The Beat", filled with such memorable songs such as "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We Got The Beat" got everyone on their feet, especially when the album went Gold. 25 years later, we see that lead vocalist Belinda Carlisle, bassist Kathy Valentine, lead guitarist/keyboardist Charlotte Caffey, rhythm guitarist Jane Wiedlin, and drummer Gina Schock still "got the beat!" As a matter of fact, they performed on the Today Show back in May. And in addition, this year marks the 10th anniversary since Belinda went solo after the Go-Go's initial break-up. From there, we'd see her make successful albums like "Belinda" (1986) and "Heaven On Earth" (1987), the latter being a really big hit with Heaven Is A Place On Earth.

Well, that does it for this column for now. I'll get back to the categories in October. August and September's columns will be tributes to the hurricane victims (August) and 9-11 victims (September). Until then, this is John Lee saying "Go HOME!"