Started up Google and typed WEATHER. Up came the current five day forecast for my zip code. At the bottom of the forecast, in the usual font I can’t read was the credit to The Weather Channel, Weather Underground, and AccuWeather.

Nice day today although kinda cloudy.

weather underground? Weather Underground? WEATHER UNDERGROUND!!!

Where are they today?

Who’s their (alleged) friend?

I assume there was no intention for the company to name themselves after an American terrorist organization (although some of those working at Fox News probably would say that the radical organization has infiltrated the American psyche with a corporate news service distorting our perceptions of whether it will rain today and thus disrupting our society).

In 1968 I was a freshman (now fortunately known as “first year” as we have cleaned our language up as the world has changed for the better) in college. Around October, Rolling Stone magazine had this weird advertisement in which the non-selling record (yup vinyl) of a new artist named Randy Newman was highlighted as a real bummer (not sure anymore if that term had entered American culture by the 60s) and the record label was giving copies for free (yup, not even any postage) and since I could not afford to purchase records at the age of 17, I sent in the coupon for the “loser’s” record. Came in a few days later, hated it first but played it to death and came to love it. The best song on the album was “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today). The song never became a hit, but Newman hung around and kept recording (perhaps it did not hurt that his dad and uncle were both famous composers of film scores for some of Hollywood’s biggest movies). Second chances are a great thing for everybody, although I am ambivalent about the Weathermen.

[Comment: The juxtaposition of the Weather Underground and Randy Newman does not imply any relationship between Randy Newman and either the weather forecasting company or the terrorist organization from the 1960s. To the best of my knowledge, Mr Newman does not discuss his political views (although I guess from his lyrics that is a very peace-oriented man) nor do I know where he gets information whether it is going to rain on his outdoor concerts. I do know that Mr Newman worked in humanitarian relief efforts after the New Orleans hurricane.]