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Weather: Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. South winds 5 to 10 mph with gusts up to 20 mph. Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy in the evening, then becoming partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 60s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.See the daily weather briefing from the National Weather Service in Jacksonville here.
Today at a Glance:
The Big Game: Today of course is the day for the biggest game on the planet, the 3 p.m. match-up (Palm Coast time) between Nigeria and Ivory Coast in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, in one of those stadiums China’s been building all over Africa. Nigeria is favored, having accumulated a better record than Ivory Coast in the previous rounds, including a 1-0 victory over Ivory Coast in the group stage, while allowing only two goals the entire tournament. Nigeria defeated South Africa in a penalty shootout in the semifinal. Ivory Coast had a much rougher road to the final, including two losses, the other a 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea. The Elephants defeated Congo 1-0 in the semi. But they’re playing in their own home turf. BeIN Sport is carrying the match live at 3 p.m.
Palm Coast Open: A USTA Pro Circuit Event: At the Palm Coast Tennis Center, 1290 Belle Terre Parkway, Palm Coast. Check daily schedules here. In its 13th year, the Palm Coast Open features elite men’s tennis played on our hometown stage. Competitors worldwide travel to Palm Coast for a chance at winning a total of $15,000 in prize money and points toward their ATP ranking, a merit-based method to determine tournament entry and seeding based on men’s tennis rankings.
Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village: The city’s only farmers’ market is open every Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at European Village, 101 Palm Harbor Pkwy, Palm Coast. With fruit, veggies, other goodies and live music. For Vendor Information email [email protected]
St. Augustine Music Festival: Bach to Blacknotes, at the Main branch of the St. Augustine Library, 184 San Marco Ave., St. Augustine, 3 to 5 p.m. The St. Augustine Music Festival hosts a fundraiser featuring pianist Kyle Walker. Walker received the 2021 Chamber Music America “Ensemble Forward” career grant. In 2023, he became the first classical pianist to perform at the SXSW Music Festival. Mr. Walker serves on the piano faculty at several top organizations, including New York University and Lucy Moses School at the Kaufman Music Center. His “Bach to Blacknotes” concert juxtaposes works by J.S. Bach with the music of composers whose work has been neglected due to oppression or inequality. The program will include Keyboard Partita No.1, by J.S. Bach, and works by composers Cecile Chaminade, Irene Britton Smith, Margaret Bonds, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and Florence B. Price. This fundraising concert supports the St. Augustine Music Festival, which presents music to a diverse audience with free concerts at the Cathedral Basilica in St. Augustine in June. $20.00 per person. To purchase tickets in advance go to the SAMF website, here.
‘Tuck Everlasting,’ at Limelight Theater, 11 Old Mission Avenue, St. Augustine. Tickets: $22.50. Book here. 7:30 p.m., except on Sundays, when the show is at 2 p.m. What would you do if you had all eternity? Eleven-year-old Winnie Foster yearns for a life of adventure beyond her white picket fence, but not until she becomes unexpectedly entwined with the Tuck Family does she get more than she could have imagined. When Winnie learns of the magic behind the Tuck’s unending youth, she must fight to protect their secret from those who would do anything for a chance at eternal life. As her adventure unfolds, Winnie faces an extraordinary choice: return to her life, or continue with the Tucks on their infinite journey.
Al-Anon Family Groups: Help and hope for families and friends of alcoholics. Meetings are every Sunday at Silver Dollar II Club, Suite 707, 2729 E Moody Blvd., Bunnell, and on zoom. More local meetings available and online too. Call 904-315-0233 or see the list of Flagler, Volusia, Putnam and St. Johns County meetings here.
Grace Community Food Pantry, 245 Education Way, Bunnell, drive-thru open today from noon to 3 p.m. The food pantry is organized by Pastor Charles Silano and Grace Community Food Pantry, a Disaster Relief Agency in Flagler County. Feeding Northeast Florida helps local children and families, seniors and active and retired military members who struggle to put food on the table. Working with local grocery stores, manufacturers, and farms we rescue high-quality food that would normally be wasted and transform it into meals for those in need. The Flagler County School District provides space for much of the food pantry storage and operations. Call 386-586-2653 to help, volunteer or donate.
 Keep Their Lights On Over the Holidays: Flagler Cares, the social service non-profit celebrating its 10th anniversary, is marking the occasion with a fund-raiser to "Keep the Holiday Lights On" by encouraging people to sponsor one or more struggling household's electric bill for a month over the Christmas season. Each sponsorship amounts to $100 donation, with every cent going toward payment of a local power bill. See the donation page here. Every time another household is sponsored, a light goes on on top of a house at Flagler Cares' fundraising page. The goal of the fun-raiser, which Flagler Cares would happily exceed, is to support at least 100 families (10 households for each of the 10 years that Flagler Cares has been in existence). Flagler Cares will start taking applications for the utility fund later this month. Because of its existing programs, the organization already has procedures in place to vet people for this type of assistance, ensuring that only the needy qualify. |
Readings: Lindsay Zoladz in the Times on Feb. 5: “When a beloved artist who has not performed live in some time returns to the stage, we often expect them to appear fragile, unsteady, ill at ease. But during Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, when the camera first pulled back from a tight shot of a woman’s fingers picking a familiar riff on an acoustic guitar and revealed the face of the great, elusive folk singer Tracy Chapman, what you noticed was the joy radiating from her face. Her contented smile. The unwavering tone and rich steadiness of her voice. It was a genuine moment of warmth and unity, the sort seldom offered these days by televised award shows — or televised anything, really. Singing her rousing 1988 hit “Fast Car” live for the first time in years, duetting with the country star Luke Combs — whose faithful cover of the song was one of last year’s defining hits — and taking in the rapturous applause of her musical peers, Chapman gave off the feeling, in the words of her timeless song, that she belonged.”
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The Live Calendar is a compendium of local and regional political, civic and cultural events. You can input your own calendar events directly onto the site as you wish them to appear (pending approval of course). To include your event in the Live Calendar, please fill out this form.
Coffee With Flagler Beach Commission Chair Scott Spradley
Flagler Beach Farmers Market
Grace Community Food Pantry on Education Way
Gamble Jam at Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area
ESL Bible Studies for Intermediate and Advanced Students
Grace Community Food Pantry on Education Way
Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village
Al-Anon Family Groups
For the full calendar, go here.
More than once I have staggered out of editorial conferences dripping cold sweat, and wondering dizzily how God got along for so many years without the New Republic and the Manchester Guardian. And at other times I have marveled that the human race did not revolt against the imposture, dig up the carcass of Johann Gutenberg, and heave it to the buzzards and hyenas in some convenient zoo.
–From H.L. Mencken’s Happy Days (1940).
Ed P says
Qualifier: I’m not a psychologist.(but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once)
Conspiracy theories are sometimes correlated with lower analytical thinking and sometimes lower intelligence. But not always, Machiavellianism traits lend themselves to construct some whoppers. As well as multiple other traits.
I’m confident that portion of the country that aligns with the Republicans do not exclusively or universally all fit into these three categories or have more of a propensity for believing in conspiracy theories. The mathematical probabilities would simply be impossible. In fact, the conspiracy believers are probably amazingly evenly dispersed among all political parties, even the independents.
Hence, beyond the anecdotal examples that will be possibly be posted here is not a factual reason to believe the Republicans/MAGA have a “lock” on conspiracies.
Sherry says
Regarding the 2020 election. . . Here is what the Pew Research Center says about conspiracy theories: https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2020/09/16/political-divides-conspiracy-theories-and-divergent-news-sources-heading-into-2020-election/
Pogo says
@Sherry
Thank you.
If it wasn’t, in fact, a matter of life or death for so many — it would be amusing to observe pestilential scoundrels going about their business. The ability to speak out of both sides of their mouths, instantly, and shamelessly, change sides on any occasion and in any event is… is very special. Just like they are.
It’s breathtaking to behold, e g., a Rick Scott, and his ilk, caught red-handed preparing to murder Social Security, Medicare, School Lunches, take your pick, and rob the pockets of the victims so that the residue of their having existed may be shared with his ravenous associates. Without missing a beat, Scott will barely smile, below his dead staring eyes, and purr about protecting the intended victim for the future; not mentioning that protecting is meant in the same way a corpse is protected by embalming. They’ll live forever in memory.
If it wasn’t, in fact, a matter of life or death for so many — it would be amusing to observe pestilential scoundrels going about their business. The ability to speak out of both sides of their mouths, instantly, and shamelessly, change sides on any occasion and in any event is… is very special. Just like they are.
It’s breathtaking to behold, e g., a Rick Scott, and his ilk, caught red-handed preparing to murder Social Security, Medicare, School Lunches, etc., and rob the pockets of the victims so that the residue of their having existed may be shared with his ravenous associates. Without missing a beat, Scott will barely smile, below his dead staring eyes, and purr about protecting the intended victim for the future; not mentioning that protecting is meant in the same way a corpse is protected by embalming.
There really is no new thing under the sun; something us olds learned, and callow youth, too often, don’t survive long enough to know. If you live long enough you’ll enjoy the poignant memory of a truly wonderful teacher who patiently smiled and quietly congratulated you when you announced you had invented the wheel, made fire, etc. And when you do, pass it along – pay it forward.
ASF says
Unfortunately, there are plenty of people on the extreme ends of both the Far Right and the Far Left who could fit in with the image conveyed by the above published cartoon.
Pogo says
@About my reply to Sherry
Stuff happens when switching between an editor and a small reply field in a browser.
Sherry says
Dear Pogo. . . some things are worth repeating, LOL!