Numlock News: April 17, 2023 • Vampires, Bullfighters, Mavericks
By Walt HickeyWelcome back! MavsThe Dallas Mavericks have been fined $750,000 for insufficiently playing the sport of basketball, specifically an incident on April 7 where the team lost to the Chicago Bulls. On that day, the team elected to rest several key players and limit the time spent playing for several others. As a result of the loss, they now have the 10th-best odds in the draft lottery, and the league is effectively saying they tanked the game. It wouldn’t be the first time, either, as owner Mark Cuban was fined $600,000 in 2018 for saying the Macs were tanking. VampireAs expected, The Super Mario Bros. Movie won the weekend, with ticket sales declining just 41 percent to a robust $87 million, bringing its global cume to $678 million. What’s interesting is in the runners up, where the Nic Cage horror comedy Renfield missed expectations that it would land in second place and instead nabbed just fourth place with $7.7 million. Instead, Russell Crowe thriller The Pope’s Exorcist came in second with $9.1 million, followed by John Wick: Chapter 4 with $7.9 million in third, bringing its worldwide gross to $349 million and now making it the biggest film in the franchise. ParkingToronto Pearson Airport charges 58 cents a minute (USD) for parking fees at the airport, up from 55 cents per minute last year. For most cases, this is just an incidental cost of operating an aircraft, but in one very specific case an aircraft — a massive Antonov An-124 cargo plane with a wingspan of 240 feet — has racked up $330,000 in parking fees since it’s been grounded since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. Canada restricted the air space following the invasion, and the Volga-Dnepr plane can’t so much as get permission for its mechanics to service the plane, which is one of 26 in existence. Vipal Monga, The Wall Street Journal NuclearGermany has shut down the last of its nuclear power plants, for some reason, with six reactors shut down since the end of 2021. Those six reactors produced more zero-carbon electricity than all of the solar panels in Germany combined, and last year produced more than all of the wind and solar in Denmark. Wholesale energy prices are up in Germany significantly compared to the baseline, hovering at 135 euros per megawatt-hour as of the start of the year. It’s prompted protests not just among Germans, as the loss of all that carbon-free energy will be felt across the continent. The positive news for nuclear advocates is that five of the six reactors can be restored to full operation without any major effort or modifications, and the sixth is still reversible. Alexander C. Kaufman, Huffpost DownloadsGlobal revenue from music downloads are down 43.75 percent over the past five years as the broad market moves to streaming, but one company in particular — Beatport, which specifically caters to DJs — is seeing big success and growth in the space. Over that same period, digital download sales are up 35 percent at Beatport, which claims to have sold 25,519,770 song downloads last year alone, good for 12 percent of all globally downloaded tracks. They focus on selling high-quality downloads to DJs for use in live sets. Primary CareA new study published in JAMA Network Open has linked the mere presence of Black primary care physicians in a county to longer lifespans for Black people within that county. The researchers analyzed data from over 3,000 counties, specifically the differences of the 1,618 counties that had at least one Black primary care physician across the three years examined. They found that every 10 percent increase in Black primary care physicians in a county was linked to a roughly one-month increase in life expectancy, and a 10 percent increase was also associated with a 1.2 percent decrease in the disparity in mortality between Black and white individuals. BullfightsJust under 2 percent of Spaniards attended a bullfight during the 2021–22 season, as a prominent diversion has declined into a rare niche. The topic is divisive in Spain, as large groups who argue that the practice is tantamount to animal torture contend with those who argue it’s an important cultural symbol of Spain, particularly in the southern and central parts of the country. The remaining fans are die-hard, and have made inroads among the youth, as teenagers aged 15 to 19 were the largest group of attendees of bullfights last season. Indeed, government attempts to ban the practice have often had the direct opposite affect among the standard crowd of rebellious youths, who are then drawn to the banned thing more than they would have been if it was just a bunch of stodgy old bullfighters pushing it. Jennifer O’Mahony, The Associated Press Thanks to the paid subscribers to Numlock News who make this possible. Subscribers guarantee this stays ad-free, and get a special Sunday edition. Consider becoming a full subscriber today. Send links to me on Twitter at @WaltHickey or email me with numbers, tips or feedback at walt@numlock.news. Send corrections or typos to the copy desk at copy@numlock.news. Check out the Numlock Book Club and Numlock award season supplement. Previous Sunday subscriber editions: Working · Cable · Ringmaster · Hard Seltzer · Enhanced Geothermal · Hoop Muses · Subsea Cables · Wrestling · Tabletop Renaissance · BTS · Baby Boom · Levees · Misdirection · Public Domain 2022 · NIMBY · Undersea Life · Bob vs Bob · Instant Delivery Curse · Monopoly · Twitter · Crypto · Rotoscope · Heat Pumps · The Ruck ·Tabletop · Mexican Beer · The Chaos Machine · [CENSORED] · Podcast Industrialization · Fantasy Shows · Law Dork · Chinese Box Office · Box Office Recovery · Giant Hornets · Graphic Novels ·Sunday Edition Archives: 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018You're currently a free subscriber to Numlock News. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. |
Key phrases
Older messages
Numlock News: April 18, 2023 • Akiya, Hibernation, Tides
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
By Walt Hickey Birds Sega, a video game company built on an iconic animal mascot with an attitude, has purchased Rovio, a video game company built on iconic animal mascots with attitudes, for €706
Numlock News: April 11, 2023 • Law & Order, Edmonton, Elevators
Tuesday, April 11, 2023
By Walt Hickey Talus Dome Constructed by the artists Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues at the cost of $600000, the “Talus Dome” is a large public artwork in Edmonton, Canada, which has proven divisive
Numlock News: April 10, 2023 • Champagne, Conch, Coal
Monday, April 10, 2023
By Walt Hickey Welcome back! Super Mario Bros. The Super Mario Bros. Movie blew expectations out of the water and made $204.6 million at the domestic box office and $173 million overseas for a $377
Numlock News: April 7, 2023 • Ramen, Parking Tickets, K-Pop
Friday, April 7, 2023
By Walt Hickey Have a great weekend! Bad Drivers Owe Us Money A new analysis out of the New York City Independent Budget Office found that the amount of unpaid parking tickets and camera violations
Numlock News: April 6, 2023 • Emperor, NASCAR, Scoville
Thursday, April 6, 2023
By Walt Hickey Headless Man In Turkish Bronze The New York District Attorney's office has confiscated more looted art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Last month the office returned 12
You Might Also Like
Welcome to The Flyover
Sunday, May 5, 2024
Thanks for joining The Flyover! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
AIPAC is secretly funneling money into a congressional race, sources say. Here are the details.
Saturday, May 4, 2024
AIPAC is not done trying to take down the Squad. AIPAC is secretly funneling money into a congressional race, sources say. Here are the details. If somebody forwarded you this newsletter, you can sign
$33 Billionaire C.Z. Gets 4 Months | ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Arrested On Tax Charges
Saturday, May 4, 2024
The asset manager's new short-term credit fund is hosted on the Ethereum blockchain. ADVERTISEMENT Forbes START INVESTING • Newsletters • MyForbes Mitchell Martin Senior Editor, Forbes Money &
Sen. Maria Cantwell calls for an ‘AI Bill for education’
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Anthropic's intriguing Seattle billboard | Zebra deepfake overload | Upcoming events ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: Washington state's second-largest city is the hub of an ambitious
Welcome to The Flyover
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Thanks for joining The Flyover! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Everything Worth Buying From Wayfair’s Way Day Sale
Saturday, May 4, 2024
From patio gear to kitchen appliances. The Strategist Every product is independently selected by editors. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission. Everything
Beethoven's Ninth at 200
Saturday, May 4, 2024
+ 'Pat the Bunny' is a powerful learning tool
Welcome to The Flyover
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Thanks for joining The Flyover! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
The Veil Is Lifted
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Columns and commentary on news, politics, business, and technology from the Intelligencer team. Intelligencer Weekend Reader Required Reading for Political Compulsives 1. David Pecker and Keith
YOU LOVE TO SEE IT: Happy Math For Public Schools
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Plus, free tax filing pays off, electric vehicles work double time, and pharmaceutical giants face scrutiny for outrageous pricing. YOU LOVE TO SEE IT: Happy Math For Public Schools By Katherine Li • 4