In the immortal words of Professor Farnsworth on “Futurama:” “Good news, everyone!”

And there is good news about “Futurama.” But first, these headlines:

Even though I vowed to steer clear, I found myself watching a surprisingly large chunk of the Summer Olympics opening ceremony, and I have to give credit to the organizers for thinking outside the stadium — but, truth be told, the idea to build the ceremony around the Seine River might have played better on paper than it did in real life, although, to be fair, the rain probably didn’t help.

I suspect that some of you might not have watched the ceremony yet, so I’m going to try to redact potential spoilers for your benefit: The teenager who still lurks within me thought the Eiffel Tower light show rocked. The climactic surprise performance by (BELOVED SINGER) was terrific. I enjoyed the prerecorded and enjoyably goofy performance by (EQUALLY BELOVED SINGER WITHOUT ANY APPARENT CONNECTION TO FRANCE), And my beret is off to whoever thought up that cauldron, but I do have a question. You probably have the same question, and you can click here for the answer — although clicking, frankly, constitutes a spoiler.

The reviews of the ceremony that I’ve read thus far are probably more brutal than they should be, but they’re not completely off the mark, either.

Back in Oregon, slightly cooler temperatures and calmer winds are giving firefighters a boost as they battle blazes throughout Eastern Oregon. The Durkee Fire burning near Baker City is closing in on 300,000 acres and is the largest in the nation at this writing. That fire is burning right up against Interstate 84 and has prompted sporadic closures of the interstate over the past week. Now, state officials are warning that this summer’s wildfire season likely will continue to snarl traffic all season long — and could also trigger extended power outages in some areas. Lynne Terry of the Oregon Capital Chronicle has the details — and tips on how to prepare — in this story.

By the way: If you’re interested in tracking wildfires, you might want to check out a service I’ve been using: Watch Duty is a nonprofit effort that keeps an eye on real-time fire information for 13 Western states. So far, I’ve found its information to be accurate and timely. Also, it’s free, but if you like it, consider a donation.

Does it seem to you that the $600 million construction project at the state Capitol has been going on forever? Me too — but it’s only been two years now, with another couple of years to go. This past week, media outlets got to tour the project, and Julia Shumway of the Capital Chronicle filed this impressive report.

I probably spend more time than is healthy thinking about Elon Musk, but what I am supposed to do now that apparently every other car in Corvallis is a Tesla? But at least I don’t work for Musk: Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of Twitter, does. As this long read from The New York Times’ Kate Conger amply demonstrates, managing this particular boss is a full-time job.

The Pew Research Center is out with a new study concluding that most Americans follow news about local government and politics, but only about a quarter of them are satisfied with the coverage. That sounds about right to me, and this becomes a particularly vexing issue the smaller a news outlet gets: It’s hard to cover every city council or county commission race with reduced staffs. And yet, you can make a credible case that those local positions have a much greater impact on people’s daily lives than, say, the U.S. president.

Crescent Beach in Oregon has somehow made a list of the world’s 100 sexiest beaches. Jamie Hale of The Oregonian/OregonLive is suitably dubious.

Nicholas Kristof has a new column in The New York Times in which he breaks down what he sees as the two possible outcomes for artificial intelligence: It could be a boon for humanity, he writes. Or it could kill us, cheaply and effectively. You’ll be pleased to know that the column is somewhat more nuanced than that.

Speaking of the world of tomorrow: “Futurama,” the animated sci-fi comedy created by Oregon native Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, is getting yet another go-round on the streaming service Hulu. I was, sad to say, disappointed in the 2009 Comedy Central revival, but you know what? I’ll watch this 12th season, when it debuts next week. Also, the trailer for this season made me laugh a couple of times, so that’s something. Kristi Turnquist of The Oregonian/OregonLive has the details.

That’s it for this week. We’ll connect here next weekend.