James Spann is a household name in Alabama. We hear him on the radio and see him on TV all the time. Heck, I've got an ABC 33/40 lunchbox with his picture on it. He's a super smart guy when it comes to weather science and geography, and I'm sure he's a kind soul; however, he is a staunch climate change denier and believes the Earth is only 6,000 years old. The fact that he's a young Earth creationist is irrelevant, but interesting nonetheless.

I have nothing but respect for James Spann, but I think some of his ideas are silly and it's surprising to me that such an experienced scientist would have them. I'm not an expert of course, but I do trust the scientific consensus that climate change is a thing. Could 99.9% of climatologists be totally wrong? It's certainly possible. But here's how I look at it - if 999 doctors told me I needed one drug to save my life, but one other doctor said, "Nah, you need crystals, my dude", I would trust the 999 other doctors. James Spann is a brilliant guy when it comes to meteorology, but just because somebody is an expert in one area doesn't mean I should trust his or her judgement in other areas. Rocket scientists and brain surgeons are both super smart people, but you wouldn't want them doing each other's jobs. Leave climate science to the climatologist~

Anyways, don't take any of this to heart. These are just the random ramblings of a stranger on the Internet. I snow nothing, John No.

I find it slightly unnerving that Stan Lee's social media accounts are still actively posting things as Stan Lee. Stan the Man Lee is no longer with us sadly, but his online presence sure is. It's like when they still aired commercials with Billy Mays years after he died, or when they reanimated Orville Redenbacher in horrifying CGI. What if something happened to me and some stranger took over my Newgrounds page? It's an unsettling thought. There's only one me and that's me.

Daniel was my cousin, my mentor, and my friend. We grew up together, we worked together, we played together. As a kid, I thought the world of him. He wasn't much older than me, but I still looked up to him like a big brother. I wanted to make songs just like he did. We both got our start with Mario Paint's music composer on SNES, and went on to Noteworthy Composer, which I still use to this day. We collaborated and uploaded tracks to MySpace way back when. We even made a cringy album back in 2006. We were kids. And though we went down separate paths in life, he never stopped inspiring me, and he never stopped creating music. We were always close, even when he was across the country. I'd send MIDIs his way and he'd remix them. Music connected us.

He had a hard life. He lost his father to cancer, his girlfriend left him for somebody else, he lost him home, his job, all within a year or two. And through his misfortune, he still managed to be hopeful toward the end. He told me just a week ago that he was suicidal at one point, but that part of his life was over. He had just gotten a new job at Yellow Stone National Park and was so excited about going. He was even bringing his guitar and his laptop to write music while he was there. As far as I know, he never got to write anything. Not long after arriving, he had a heart attack and while in the hospital he had a stroke. He was only 28 years old.

Some of the people who follow me on here might be disappointed, but I'm retiring from making music for now. I just can't. I don't know what happens moving forward, but I'll return someday. I just need a little time to heal. Thank you for your support. I love you all <3

- 1991

🍒 I run a Facebook account devoted to the animated series, Major Lazer. Sadly, the show was canceled despite being fairly popular and having already been renewed for a second season. I'm a huge fan of the series. It's actually one of my favorite shows. So, speaking for all the page's followers and fans of the show, I carefully constructed a petition to bring the show back. This has roughly a 130% chance of failing, but I'm gonna try my best! I'm nobody on the internet, so I need all the support I can get. Please sign the petition and spread the word! And if you haven't, definitely check the show out.

https://www.change.org/p/fox-broadcasting-company-bring-back-the-major-lazer-animated-series

I have an extremely difficult time reading aloud, so I've started a reading series in hopes of getting better. Right now I'm reading stories out of an old book of fairy tales I found, nothing too difficult. Feel free to check out the video and let me know what you like and what you think could be better. I'd like to also get into voice acting here on New Grounds eventually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et_Vh3b4PVY&feature=youtu.be

Bort.

I've been digging through the Bertn Vault to gather all of my songs that still exist and organize them in one place. The earliest surviving music goes all the way back to 2007! They're quite terrible and sloppily written, but so special to me. I'd hate to lose them. Maybe as a joke I'll upload one of my mastapieces from '07.

What the heck is this? It was literally 7°F less than a week ago, which I think is the coldest it's ever been in Tuscaloosa in my lifetime. Dumb Alabama weather.