The Daily Valet. - 1/27/20, Monday
✔️ Kobe's Unparalleled Legacy
Monday, January 27th Edition
What a weekend, huh?
Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf
Today’s Big Story
Kobe Bryant Remembered
Honoring the life, career and unparalleled intensity of the NBA legend
Kobe Bryant, the NBA MVP who had a 20-year career with the Lakers, was killed Sunday when the helicopter he was traveling in encountered heavy fog and crashed into the hills above Calabasas. His daughter Gianna, 13, was also on board and died along with seven others.
The father and daughter were on their way from Bryant’s home in Orange County, to his youth basketball academy northwest of Los Angeles for a game (in which Gianna was going to play) when the helicopter crashed, reports ESPN.
News of the superstar's death rocketed around the sports and entertainment worlds, with many NBA athletes, officials and famous fans mourning the loss of Bryant on social media. Michael Jordan, who Bryant was most compared to, shared an emotional statement.
On Saturday night, when LeBron James, playing for the Lakers in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, passed Bryant on the career scoring list, he was wearing sneakers on which he had inscribed “Mamba 4 Life,” a reference to Kobe's Black Mamba nickname. Bryant later tweeted his congratulations—the last message on his handle’s timeline.
I, myself, am not a big basketball fan. I didn't have strong feelings about Kobe other than recognizing he was truly one of the greats who had a legendary work ethic. But there's still a uniquely visceral shock that comes with understanding that we lost someone who still had plenty to accomplish here on Earth.
↦ Watch: Check out the last three minutes of Bryant's final NBA game, considered by many to be the greatest retirement game by any athlete ever.
What Happened at the Grammys Last Night
The highlights you should know about
Lizzo, who won three Grammys on Sunday night, kicked off the award show with "this is for Kobe" during her opening performance. Host Alicia Keys said "we’re literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built.”
On a brighter note, country music legend Tanya Tucker picked up her first of two wins 47 years after her first nomination. Billie Eilish proved she's worth the hype by singing a haunting rendition of "When the Party's Over" and sweeping all four of the top categories—album, song, record of the year and best new artist. And Nipsey Hussle posthumously won best rap performance for "Racks in the Middle," featuring Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy.
Tyler, the Creator, who took home best rap album for his chart-topping "Igor," shocked and awed the crowd, according to the Los Angeles Times. He arrived to the ceremony dressed, sardonically, as the in-house bellhop, then performed "New Magic Wand," one of the most brutal noise tracks from the album in front of a strobe-flashed street strewn with dancers in matching blonde wigs. And when he won, the 28-year-old artist, producer and Golf Wang streetwear mastermind took to the stage in a pink and red polo shirt, with his mom by his side, to accept his trophy.
↦ YeeHaw: If there was an overarching trend on the red carpet, it was country-influenced fashions.
A Coronavirus Update
Five confirmed cases in the US, as China bans the wild animal trade blamed for the deadly outbreak
The White House is being urged to declare a formal public health emergency as a fifth case of the deadly coronavirus in the United States was confirmed and the death toll from the disease rose to 56 in China, where officials cautioned that the spread of the never-before-seen illness appears to be getting stronger, reports ABC News.
Over the weekend, more cases of the pneumonia-like illness were announced in the United States—a patient in Arizona and two in Southern California join those in Illinois and Washington state—bringing the total to five.
Meanwhile, airports are screening passengers traveling from China and concerns about the virus prompted Southwest Airlines to remove a sick passenger from a Las Vegas flight.
The suspected source of the outbreak is Wuhan's Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which sells carcasses and live specimens of dozens of wild animals—from bamboo rats to ostriches, baby crocodiles and hedgehogs. On Sunday, China banned the trade of wild animals until the epidemic has been eliminated across the country. According to the Washington Post, diseases can easily mutate and spread to humans in markets where different species of live wild animals are kept in close proximity, often in unhygienic conditions.
↦ By Comparison: The flu has killed 8,200 people in the United States (including 54 children) since the flu season began in October, the CDC announced on Friday.
Stay Focused at Work
It’s harder than ever … but it can be done
We live (and work) in a busy, hyper-connected world filled with easy access to everything from instant information to friends' mobile devices and food delivery. With this many distractions, trying to finish a solid day of work can sometimes feel impossible.
But losing focus usually leads to both a slower pace and decreased output. And whether you're trying to get ahead or have your own team to lead, your output matters each and every day. Avoiding these daily distractions, however, isn't as tough as it seems.
You simply have to build good habits into your day—not unlike going to the gym. Do the prep work before, and you'll breeze through your to-do list like never before. For today's installment of "31 Days," we've pulled together a solid game plan.
↦ Read: Five tips to stay focused and fight off distractions at work.
Other Things We’re Talking About Today
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Astronauts Complete Spacewalk Marathon
A big job at the International Space Station took four different spacewalks to fix
It took four years of planning, 20 new tools shipped by spacecraft and an unprecedented four-part repair job, but a $2 billion experiment on the International Space Station is all patched up after a spacewalk by astronauts Saturday, reports Space.com.
NASA astronaut Drew Morgan and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano spent six hours and 16 minutes working outside the Space Station to finish repairs on the ailing Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a nine-year-old cosmic ray detector designed to seek out dark matter and antimatter.
According to NASA, the goal of the cosmic ray particle collection unit is to help understand dark matter, which is thought to comprise 95% of the mass-energy content of the universe, and to identify its sources and their role in the origin of the universe.
The data it collects—to date, it has recorded more than 140 billion particles passing through its detectors—have proven so valuable that NASA scientists now aim to keep it operating for the full 11 years of a complete solar cycle in order to better understand the possible impact of solar radiation variation on astronauts traveling to Mars.
↦ FYI: The International Space Station has been in flight for 20 years.
What We’re Buying
There's no need to splurge on a triple-digit priced fitness tracking watch. Fitbit's best-selling Alta HR tracks your steps, distance, hourly activity, active minutes and calories burned. It's slim and sleek design still features a readable screen with swipe functions to view all trackable items. It comes in a handful of colors and what it lacks in additional features compared to the Apple Watch or other trackers, it matches in comfort on the wrist. Tracking good habits can only help you, so do yourself a favor and commit to tracking your fitness to better yourself.
↦ Get It $129.95 / $77.98 at Amazon
Today’s Deals
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Morning Motto
Free your mind and all sorts of things open up.
↦ Follow: @oliviasantnerdesign
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