Why build a skatepark? Today in the small town of Plainville, GA, we will have a grand opening event for the brand new Joe A. Young Skatepark. Plainville, as you might imagine, doesn’t have a lot going on. You know those small towns with only one traffic light? Plainville doesn’t have a traffic light. The closest thing we have to traffic is when five or six cars line up waiting for the train to pass. So why build a skatepark?

I’m an 80’s kid. I was born in the 70’s but don’t remember much of that decade. During the 80’s video games replaced pinball machines in the arcades, the mall peaked in terms of popularity for both shoppers and social interaction, and skateboarding finally spread all the way to the east coast. Parents of 80’s children grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s. As parents, they promoted roller skating as a wholesome, family-friendly activity but associated skateboarding with some sort of negative element. When I asked my dad if I could get a skateboard he must have heard “I want to start smoking and drinking at 14, and maybe get a couple tattoos.” Parents with children at home are also teachers, small business owners and elected officials. Skaters were discouraged from using sidewalks, concrete steps, public plazas and anyplace with handrails. Signs were put up, local ordinances passed, and in some places skateboarding became a criminal offense. It’s an outdoor physical activity that let’s be honest, isn’t a lot different from roller skating but was cast in a different light. Kids on skateboards were thought of by a lot of parents as street gangs.

Why build a skatepark? Because those 80’s kids are now city council members, church pastors and small business owners. In the last five years the City of Plainville has improved the playground, doubled the size of the park pavillion, built a paved walking trail and is now opening a skatepark. We have a Christmas parade and tree lighting. Big changes are coming for the library. These are improvements we can see results from immediately and investments that will pay off in the next generation.

Dark Horse and Joyful Noise do not share lyrics, chord progression, the same beat or even a melody line. At issue is a repeating synthesized ostinato. Flame won a lawsuit back in 2019 against Perry for copyright infringement. That decision was just overturned this week. This video from 2019 explains the merits of the case, or lack thereof, but keep in mind this was just after the decision for Flame was announced. The reversal of that decision this week can only be undone if the Supreme Court were to take up this case, which they will not. Sidenote: You may see LeCrae’s name associated with this story but he dropped his claim simply stating that Joyful Noise belongs to Flame.

This is why the internet was invented. Props to this guy for his love of physics and math skills. His cooking skills, though, leave something to be desired. “Let’s assume the chicken has to reach a temperature of 205 C (400F) for us to consider it cooked.” Poultry is considered cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. If your chicken reaches 400 degrees it will not be considered cooked, that would be considered incinerated. So despite Parker Ormonde’s mad skills at doing weird math, his conclusion is off by a factor of at least 50%. It wouldn’t take 23,000 normal slaps, more like 10,000. So reduce his 3,726 mph single slap down to 1,600 or so. It’s still impractical, I get that, but at least the premise is set correctly. Please note I said it was impractical, not impossible. You can find this experiment conducted on YouTube. People with nothing better to do, do stuff like this. Yet another reason to build a skatepark 😉

I don’t hang out in bars, I’ve never had a cocktail, but I would go once to see the dancing sandwiches. Maybe it depends on how many cocktails you’ve had?

And finally the answer to your question is no, I’m not doing anything in regards to Will Smith or Chris Rock. I did briefly consider picturing Smith slapping a chicken for that other bit but decided to let it go. You’re either following that story or you’ve blocked it, either way the stuff you read here you probably won’t find anywhere else.