In today’s newsletter we discuss Jay-Z is a month away from producing Usher’s Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show, the SEC finally approved 11 Bitcoin ETFs, SETI scientists off again in their search for signals from far-off alien civilizations, Bill Belichick is leaving the New England Patriots after 24 seasons, and Pentatonix singer Scott Hoying just dropped $4 million dollars on a new contemporary home in Los Angeles.

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Hey Jon Rahm: Is There Still Honor & Integrity In Golf?

Business

The day all crypto fans have been waiting for has finally come, but what does it mean for the price of Bitcoin?

On Wednesday, January 10, 2023 the SEC official approved the applications of eleven firms, paving the way for them to begin offering their own Bitcoin ETFs to the public. The approved companies includes ARK Invest & 21Shares, Bitwise, Fidelity, Franklin, Grayscale, Hashdex, Invesco & Galaxy, BlackRock, Valkyrie, VanEck, and WisdomTree.

The price of Bitcoin rallied after the news, but just like with stocks most investors sold the news, causing the price of Bitcoin to pull back in trading on Thursday.

Long term, some analysts have price targets on Bitcoin in the range of $100,000-$500,000 by the end of 2024, and some even aiming as high as $1 million dollars. That said, those same analysts have been wrong before. Need I remind you of the recent Crypto Winter?

As always, DYOR (do your own research).

SEC approves rule changes that pave the way for bitcoin ETFs

Space

Those crazy SETI scientists are up to it again in their search for signals from far-off alien civilizations.

An alliance has been formed between three groups of researchers from the SETI Institute, Breakthrough Listen, and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO).

According to the article “The new project is called COSMIC ("Commensal Open-Source Multimode Interferometer Cluster") and is in operation at the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) of radio telescopes in New Mexico.”

When I was a nerdy college student I used to run SETI’s desktop program that would run as a screensaver and analyze signals collected by the Arecibo Observatory located near Arecibo, Puerto Rico. I even recruited my parents and brother’s computers to pool our processing power and crunch the data, but alas we never found any signals from aliens.

Here’s to hoping the brainiacs over at the Very Large Array (VLA) of radio telescopes in New Mexico have better luck.

SETI scientists begin huge new hunt for intelligent aliens

Entertainment

With the NFL Playoffs upon us we’re about 1 month away from the Super Bowl Halftime Show featuring Usher.

In 2019, Jay-Z signed a deal with the NFL worth $25 million dollars over five years to produce the Super Bowl’s Halftime Show.

Since then he’s brought the world amazing performances from Jennifer Lopez and Shakira in 2020, The Weeknd in 2021, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar in 2022, and Rihanna with a baby-bump in 2023. This year he’s coming through with Usher as the headliner.

This year’s Super Bowl LVIII (that’s 58 for those of us that don’t read Roman Numerals) will be held in Allegiant Stadium in Nevada on Feb. 11, 2024.

When Usher was asked about how he’s feeling about performing at this year's Super Bowl he said "This is a celebration of my legacy. It's a celebration of my music. It's a celebration of my passion. Thirty years ago, that journey started, and now it's landed me at this point in my life at the Super Bowl. Lot of songs, lot of moments, lot of dance, lot of energy."

When pressed about what is the hardest part of preparing for his Super Bowl performance he said choosing the set list. "You've got 13 minutes in order to get through an entire legacy of music."

Obviously I’m excited to see Usher perform, but what I’ve been dying to know is when will Jay-Z grace us with his lyrical prowess and perform at a Super Bowl Halftime?

It turns out, not anytime soon.

When asked if he'll ever take the stage at a future Super Bowl to perform he said "I don't know. I thought it would be selfish to pick myself too early" before teasing "Maybe one year".

Oh, don’t do me like that Jay-Z!

JAY-Z Teases Usher's Super Bowl Show, Says 'Maybe' He'll Headline Future Halftime Performance

Sports

As a lifelong NY Giants fan, and die hard Football fan, the news that Bill Belichick is leaving the New England Patriots after 24 seasons is bittersweet.

On one hand, it has been a joy to watch Tom Brady’s New England Patriots lose to the Giants in two different Super Bowls.

On the other hand, Bill Belichick is a legend in the world of Football, and has had an amazing career that is ending with the Patriots being a shadow of the team they once were when they had Tom Brady at the QB position.

In a PR friendly announcement it was revealed that Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots have mutually agreed to part ways.

This ends a 24-year run by Bill Belichick as head coach of the New England Patriots that saw them win six Super Bowls (and like I mentioned 2 losses to the NY Giants, but I digress).

According to “sources” Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, in a press conference called Belichick the greatest coach of all time who deserved to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

I begrudgingly agree with that statement.

Moving on.

According to an article on ESPN “there was said to be no conflict, no disagreement, and in the end, productive talks resulted in a mutual decision that left both sides comfortable and at ease.”

So there we have it.

Bill Belichick is no longer a Patriot, and the team will be facing a rebuilding year in 2024.

You think Tom Brady would be interested in a coaching job?

Bill Belichick out as Patriots coach after 24 seasons

Real Estate

Guess which Pentatonix singer just dropped $4 million dollars on a new contemporary home in Los Angeles?

Grammy-winning singer and TV star Scott Hoying is the buyer of this two story, 4,300 square foot, five bedroom, 5 bath main house with a fully permitted and detached ADU (additional dwelling unit) currently configured as a guesthouse.

This is Scott Hoying’s second home purchase, and from the sounds of it he’s in the process of selling his 1st home that he bought in 2018 for $2.5 million.

Scott Hoying is one of the founding members of the acapella group Pentatonix, that formed in 2011 and subsequently won the third season of NBC's The Sing-Off, receiving $200,000 and a recording contract with Sony Music.

Pentatonix consists of the aforementioned Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstin Maldonado, Matt Sallee, and Kevin Olusola, as well as Avi Kaplan who left the group.

The Pentatonix group has toured around the world, appeared in countless Christmas specials, and recently played themselves in the Eddie Murphy movie Candy Cane Lane on Amazon Prime. The group has made more than $40 Million dollars with a capital M from album sales, movies, and touring!

Back to news on his new house.

The home is situated behind a privacy wall and gate. In the backyard, in between the main house and the guest house, the backyard has a tastefully applied AstroTurf lawn, a cozy plunge pool, and an outdoor dining space.

Judging from how well the group Pentatonix  has done, I’m guessing Scott Hoying can afford this amazing sounding LA home.

Pentatonix’s Scott Hoying Shells Out $4 Million for an All-New L.A. Contemporary Home

So much news, so little time. Until tomorrow we’re signing out.

— Chris