Good Morning, RVA: Powered by earth’s yellow sun

I may have to spend this entire beautiful day skipping around the Fan in celebration of the weather.

May 4, 2015; 6:59 AM • by Ross Catrow

Photo by: Dave Parrish Photography

Good morning, RVA! It’s 58 °F and today’s high is forecasted at a palindromic 85! In fact, the highs for this entire week reside securely in the 80s. So! Spend some time outside on your feet or bike, take your coffee meetings outside and your afternoon meetings at a happy hour, and expose your pallid skin to the sun!

Water cooler

Yesterday, Baltimore’s mayor lifted the curfew and the National Guard began to withdraw. Since last we spoke, the six officers involved in Freddie Gray’s arrest and death have been charged with a list of offense that includes second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter, and false imprisonment. Vox has more about State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby–who is suddenly America’s most famous prosecutor.

The Richmond School Board may vote on the future the Elkhardt “Too Moldy” Middle School building at tonight’s meeting. There aren’t a ton of great options on the table (moving the kids to Thompson Middle seems like the forerunner), and building a new school will take years. There’s a public comment period though, so if you’ve got thoughts make sure to weigh in. Get at tonight’s agenda here.

Both of these reader questions in Phil Riggan’s Why, Richmond? Why?!? column elicited a “huh!” from me.

Ahhhhh! Sinkholes!

The Avengers franchise now owns the top two opening weekends of all time. Of the top 15 domestic opening weekends, only Furious 7 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest are not based on comic books, Harry Potter, or Hunger Games. 2010’s Alice in Wonderland and American Sniper are the only films to crack the top 50 that are not part of a franchise. Depression. At least the all-time top grossing list is a little bit better.

Sports!

• Kickers and Charlotte battled to a 2-2 draw.
• Squirrels have now lost 15 straight. They travel to Altoona tonight.
• After losing 0-4 to the Mets on Friday, the Nats picked up two 1-0 wins over the weekend. They’ve won five of the last six and face the Marlins tonight at 7:05 PM.
• Caps lost to the Rangers, 2-3. They’ll pick up tonight at 7:30 PM.
• Wizards began their playoff series with the Hawks by winning 104-98.

What to expect

• Preschools!
• Froday Cheers!
• #untoldrva!

This morning’s longread

Hahaha vs. Hehehe

The terms of e-laughter–“ha ha,” “ho ho,” “hee hee,” “heh”–are implicitly understood by just about everybody. But, in recent years, there’s been an increasingly popular newcomer: “hehe.” Not surprisingly, it’s being foisted upon us by youth. What does it mean?

Let’s start with the fundamentals. The basic unit of written laughter, which we’ve long known from books and comics, is “ha.” The “ha” is like a Lego, a building block, with which we can construct more elaborate hilarity. It sounds like a real laugh. Ha! The “ha” is transparent, like “said.” If you’re chatting or texting, a single “ha” means that a joke has occurred, and you’re respectfully tipping your hat to it, but that’s all it deserves. If I say something hilarious and I get one “ha,” it’s a real kick in the teeth. If I make a mild observation, a “ha” is just great.

I’m much more of a “haha” guy and never use “hehe.”

This morning’s Instagram

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May 4, 2015 6:59 AM 0