This is what our President tweeted after a Federal Judge ordered a temporary halt to the Muslim immigration ban that unconstitutionally targets seven Muslim countries:
“Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!” (1:39 PM – 5 Feb 2017)
This tweet is part of the disinformation campaign that Trump is constantly running. The fact of the matter is that Trump himself is intentionally causing turmoil, he knows that he is inciting violence, he knows that he is making enemies around the world, so he is already looking for a scapegoat.
Here are a few examples of Trump’s strategy to irritate the entire world: (1) a dispute with Mexico over building the wall; (2) during the campaign Trump did in fact advocate a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States; (3) one week after becoming President, Trump banned people traveling to the United States from seven Muslim countries; (4) pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership after years of negotiations; (5) calling China a “currency manipulator” in his Contract with the American Voter, then as President siding with Japan in the dispute over the Diaoyu Islands; (6) the Speaker of the UK Parliament wants to prevent Trump from speaking to its members because Trump is so disliked; and (7) Trump even found a way to get into an argument with Australia.
Trump appears to enjoy making people angry, and he has a habit of collecting enemies. Indeed, just this week Trump stated (joked?) that he would destroy the career of a Texas State Senator, for political reasons. Trump has already caused one of the largest protests in American history, the day after his Inauguration. It is clear that Trump actually wants something bad to happen. Thus, when something goes wrong the blame will belong to Trump.
When a President speaks in ominous terms about something in the future that might go wrong, we all should immediately call to mind the Reichstag Fire Decree from Nazi Germany. The fire was used as the excuse to take away the civil rights of the German people in 1933.
Trump has proved, time and again, that he is a pathological liar. What will happen is that something (anything) will go wrong, and then Trump will lie to us and say he wants to protect us, but all the while he is consolidating his control and taking away our rights.
It is simply false to suggest that a Federal Judge could be to blame for a future and unknown anything. Do not blame the judge. Blame Trump!
2. SRI LANKA
In February 2016 Sri Lanka expressed an interest in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership that was in the process of being negotiated by twelve countries. Last month, after Trump took office he pulled the USA out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Now, the Chinese Xinhuanet is reporting that Sri Lanka is seeking closer ties with China.
Does Sri Lanka matter to the World economy? Probably not very much. But, The EU does matter. China is The EU’s second largest trading partner, and The EU is China’s largest trading partner. In 2013 The EU and China began negotiating a bilateral investment agreement that would allow closer economic ties between the two massive trading partners. When this deal is finally reached, China and the EU will allow cross-investments that should significantly increase each other’s ability to manufacture and trade goods.
So, while Trump is talking about protectionism and “America First,” China and The EU are finally creating the trading empire that Marco Polo envisioned eight centuries ago.
MOVIE UNFAIRNESS
There are three significant movies opening this weekend, all of which look to be great (or at least good enough for a trip to the theatre).
John Wick: Chapter Two will be amazing, to the extent the trailer could be believed. The actors include Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, Ruby Rose, Common, and Bridget Moynahan. The plot has something to do with something that does not matter, because this movie will be all action.
The Lego Batman Movie is a Batman Movie. Nothing more needs to be said. Go see it.
Fifty Shades Darker This movie is amoral, disgusting, and simply wrong. (I already have my tickets!)
(Michael DePaoli suggests that when the stress of Trump gets too great, you should watch his Youtube movie called Flower Therapy)
Two similar names and lives going in quite opposite directions.
By now you know that “Oak” was at the Knicks game last night (he bought his own ticket across the aisle and a few rows behind James Dolan) and that he was ultimately ushered away and arrested on three minor assault charges.
It’s indisputable that Oakley shoved a few guards and put his hand/finger in the ear of one and pushed him away (Oak is still a towering, fierce presence). What is in dispute is whether Oak became belligerent toward Dolan before the guards asked him to leave or whether he was simply asked to leave because of his proximity to Dolan. Oak told The Daily News’ Frank Isola (you remember, “trash,” according to LBJ) that it was the latter. We’ll see.
Williams and Oakley are tight
Either way, everything here is sad. It’s sad that the Knicks are celebrating their 70th season and never invited Oak to participate because he had the temerity to speak candidly about what a joke James Dolan (once in awhile an insecure New Yorker who had a very successful dad comes along and ruins everything). It’s sad that Oak, who was a true warrior as a Knick and who holds cult status among NBA players of his era (I once spent a night with former Net Jayson Williams and a few others where all they did was one-up one another with crazy off-the-court Oakley anecdotes; by the way, Oak is very passionate about cooking), who consider him a beloved legend, has to buy a ticket into his own former arena, where the fans revere him.
Another famous fracas with Oakley (yes, that’s Jeff Van Gundy)
The Knicks put out a statement quickly in which they wrote “We hope he gets some help soon.” One, all of us feel the same way about this franchise. Second, any decently run franchise would reach out to Oak and provide that help. The Knicks need to be the bigger party here, invite the prodigal son home, and let the crowd pay tribute. I doubt they will.
Maybe Oak precipitated last night’s kerfuffle. If so, some of this is on him. But it feels as if at least some of this is Dolan being such an insecure little man (sound familiar?).
2. It’s Always Sunny
Pawar won an open casting call (I’d call it a cattle call, but this is India, where those creatures are sacred) to play the role of Seroo
Finally saw Lionthe other night. Spoiler alert: there are no cats in the film (when I told my own kitty this, he accuse me of….lyin‘). It’s a movie in two parts, the first half being far more suspenseful and, well, magical. That’s all due to the little charmer above, Sunny Pawar, who plays the ultimate Lost Boy, Saroo.
The real-life Saroo (left) and the two actors who played him….
Pawar, himself something of a slumdog from Mumbai, beat out approximately 2,000 others for the role. He’s charismatic and if you’ve ever been a little boy lost (raises both hands), he conveys that sense of panic and wonder genuinely. It must be funny for his co-star, with whom he never shares a scene because they play the same character at different points in life, Dev Patel, to watch Sunny. It was eight years ago when Patel was the (admittedly older) Indian actor from outta nowhere who blew everyone away.
And Patel is terrific here, a full-grown male (and he’s been lifting). But Pawar deserved a Best Supporting Actor nod. Easily. Patel got the nod, but there’s no way you leave this film being more affected by his performance (solid) than by Pawar’s (hypnotic). Read A.O.Scott’s review in TheFailing New York Times but also watch the “Anatomy of a Scene.”
3. Another Day of Trump
There was a time when he owned a robe
— Donald AND Donald Jr. send out tweets harshing on Nordstrom’s for dropping Ivanka’s line (which wasn’t selling).
Women Nationwide Cut Up Nordstrom’s Cards, Plan Boycotts After Political Decision to Drop Ivanka Trump Line https://t.co/LPc0okanaX
–Judge Neil Gorsuch-and-Such not only tells a senator that Trump’s statements about the appeals court judges are “demoralizing” and “disheartening,” but does not shy away from admitting he said that when the media checks if that was fake news. Sending a message.
–Trump calls his NSA advisor Mike Flynn at 3 a.m. to ask about how a stronger or weaker dollar would affect the economy. One, why would Flynn know? Two, I thought Donald was a business and economics whiz? Three, how did news of that call get released (not by the man who made the call)? Four, when did the presidency become an awful Matchbox Twenty song?
–Sessions confirmed.
–Failed Yemen raid? No. “Huge success!” Why, because a Navy SEAL died? That’s the calculus, Sean?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNCG9fHGXB0
T-Mobile is not an official MH sponsor, we just love Kristen Schaal and this ad.
4. Geno on Immigration
A few hours before leading Connecticut to its 98th consecutive win on Tuesday in Cincinnati, immigrant Geno Auriemma answered WCOP-TV reporter Keenan Singleton’s question about Trump’s proposed immigration ban. Lots of wisdom and insight here.
5. Riff-Off
This is what James Corden can do that no other late-night host can (Okay, Jimmy Fallon can). Here’s a pair of Tony Awards hosts (and winners) doing a riff-off (it’s a little, um, swishy).
Music 101
I’ll Fall In Love Again
Cabo Wabo! Sammy Hagar is the Andy Dufresne of rock stars: He got his pile of cash, then he wisely made his exodus down to Mexico’s west coast. In the early 80’s, before he joined Van Halen, it was easy to enjoy Hagar’s straightforward rock, but he had “opening act’ written all over him (it may be tattooed somewhere). Still, you listen to this 1982 rocker and it’s simple to see why the VH brothers recruited him to replace Diamond Dave.
Remote Patrol
North Carolina at Duke
7 p.m. ESPN
A little unusual to see these neighbors ranked 8th and 18th respectively, but the battles inside Cameron are always spectacular and in Grayson Allen the series has one of its worthier anti-heroes. Coach K Pissy-ness Level: 14.
Remember, those Germans in 1933 did not have the advantage of a historical precedent (at least not a recent one) to examine and say to themselves, “Well, we don’t want to mistake the same mistake those suckers did.” So what’s your excuse, America ?
Axis of Evil
You know what they say: At the age of 21 you have the face you were born with. At the age of 50 you have the face you deserve. What do these pictures tell you?
Let’s review the playbook, shall we? The strategy, as an acronym, is actually the Spanish word for “more”: mas. As in MAS, as in Make America Scared.
Step 1: Terrify Americans by saying that radical Islamic Jihadists are out to kill us all. Do such men exist? Sure. So do hippos. Hippos kill more people in South Africa than sharks do annually, but you’ve never seen Hippo Week on The Discovery Channel, now have you (and HIV/AIDS kills even more, but again…).
Heil back
Step 2: Hammer that point home because you can’t lose. If nothing happens, you take the credit for stopping it. If something does happen, say a “Muslim supremacist” walks into a Catholic church in, say, Quebec City, even better. Now you get to reiterate those racist, xenophobic themes that appeal to your ignorant base (the correlation between racism/xenophobia is not 100%, but it’s pretty high up there) and press for more control with executive orders that restrict freedoms, done under the guise of keeping you and me safe, but really it’s all about control. It’s like when your parents point to that one kid who had to get his stomach pumped as their excuse to never let you attend a party when you’re in high school (hey, he only got his stomach pumped; he didn’t die).
Earlier today he shushed a female senator who was quoting a black widow of a slain civil rights leader; that’s like a triple whammy
Step 3: Spy on people (YOU HAVE TO, RIGHT? For homeland security!) which will allow you to root out dissenters more quickly. Spend more on the military (your lobbyists, contractors and MIC are pleased, and they’ll kick that money back to senators and congressmen). Spend less on education—something has to suffer—which will allow more young people to grow up to be dumbass adults who again will think of Trump (and his successors) as daddy figures keeping us safe, which is an absolute croc of hoo ha.
Sorry for the language; this is getting real and I’m determined not to be one of those who was sorry I didn’t speak up before the bus drove over the cliff.
Spiegel is German for “mirror,” though if Hitler had won, we’d all know that. Thank God there were some Americans back in the day who weren’t xenophobic, racist rubes
2. Brown Bear vs. The Board of Education*
No blonde has so mistreated bears since Goldilox
*The judges will not accept “Heavens To Betsy”
By a vote of 51-50—Mike Pence broke the tie—the Senate ratified wholly unqualified Betsy Devos as the Secretary of Education. Her chief platform is to keep your children safe from grizzlies while at school. Grizzlies are also known as brown bears and methinks this administrations’s and Betsy’s chief aim is to keep your sweet li’l angels safe (and away from) brown creatures of all types while at school.
Banned books in the Devos administration. Those bears may attack any moment.
Two Republican senators—Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine—broke party ranks and voted against Devos. Everyone else voted by party line.
republicans are the true snowflakes (they’re all white, they’re cold, and if you put enough of em together they’ll shut down public schools)
This is genius mischievousness by Steve Bannon. I salute you, sir. First, Fat Ass Trump tells a crowd at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, “And in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that.”
Next, the White House puts out a list of 78 UNDERREPORTED (as opposed to UNREPORTED) terror attacks, which is quite comical because 1) they were not at all under-reported, 2) you won’t see the name of Dylann Roof of the Quebec white supremacist or any other non-Muslim assailant on that list and 3) the term “attacker” is misspelled 27 of the 78 times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgQaTWOCTVc
(Cut to the 8:40 mark here)
Hey, we make mistakes here at MH almost daily, but I don’t have a White House staff. I have one pot of coffee and a blankie. I more than half believe Bannon put in those misspellings intentionally just to goad us.
The gist of it is, they’re lying. Again. They’re lying about the media not taking terrorism seriously, they’re lying about the media having an agenda, and they’re lying when they cherry-pick the attacks. If anyone is underreporting terrorism attacks, this White House document is, since if fails to mention, for instance, the attack at the Charleston church that left nine people dead. The Washington Post had a good story here on how Bannon and Spicer are “working the refs.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_n4CVpkTGc
The true architect of the Bowling Green Massacre, Kellyanne Conway, took on CNN’s Jake Tapper yesterday. It was civil. Kellyanne is very smart. She almost never loses her cool, but Jake had her on the ropes once or twice. The highlight comes right after the 22:00 mark.
And here’s Whoopi Goldberg (who’s far smarter than Trump and far more qualified to sit in the White House) and The View gals taking on Trump. Actually better than most CNN panels.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boKSMfEgYDQ
4. The REAL Bowling Green Massacre
The Dutch slaughtered more than 100 Lenni Lenape tribespeople in Lower Manhattan and New Jersey to incite a war.
Turns out, yeah, Kellyanne Conway “misspoke” (no, Kellyanne, you lied; you said it three times, hoping no one would catch up to you; granted, we’ve all been working overtime catching up to the lies), but there really was a Bowling Green Massacre, nearly 400 years ago. In 1643, in lower Manhattan (the Bowling Green stop is the last stop on the 6 train today), the Dutch slaughtered 30 Lenape tribesmen, and then another 80 nearby in New Jersey, because the natives would not pay them tribute. Imagine that, homelanders being slaughtered by undocumented immigrants….who were white Europeans.
5. Coma Karma
Hey, remember last week when we told you about Vladimir Kara-Murza, the Russian critic of Vladimir Putin who had been poisoned two years ago but was returning to Moscow (he lives with his wife and kids in Virginia now) to screen a film on Boris Nemtsov, who had been gunned down outside the Kremlin? Yeah, him.
Well, in the few days since he returned to mother Russia, Kara-Murza, 35, has somewhat inconveniently fallen into a near-death coma (as 35 year-olds so often do), perhaps due to an unknown poison. Hey, there are a lot of killers out there. What, you think we’re so innocent?
Reserves
Police sketch of man suspected of stealing Tom Brady‘s jersey after Super Bowl LI. Seriously, though, you needed a media credential to enter that locker room. Hence, the only real suspects are media members, Patriot staff or, most intriguing of all, fellow Patriot players. Can you imagine if a teammate lifted it? This should be solvable. Someone had to have seen it.
Cool Super Bowl Note That May Matter Only To Me (Is that how Peter King Does It?): After the Pats won, I saw a story about how Tom Brady’s ex, Bridget Moynahan, had tweeted out congratulations (classy). I’d met her once. Then I saw an item about her having gotten married a couple of years ago. When I saw the groom’s name, it sounded familiar. So I looked him up, and the face that I hadn’t seen in 30 years, well, it looked familiar. So I checked with a mutual friend of Bridget’s and mine. Turns out I was his basketball coach at a summer camp in 1987. He was the best player we had in camp and, at the age of 15, more mature than most of us counselors. A great young man (I’m glad I could have such a positive effect on him 🙂 )
Helen Mirren Award Winner
Christie Brinkley, age 63, posing for this year’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. How do I know I’m not a millennial? Because I think that Brinkley, even now, looks way better than Kate Upton (never got the Kate obsession).
Buck Toothed Ghost Shark
Scientists (those who have not been run out of town) have discovered a new species of “buck toothed ghost shark,” or so they claim. Ghost sharks are sharks whose species predate dinosaurs but are still in existence today. Most of them live at depths far below where man ever ventures. Cool beans. But, really, not a very complimentary profile.
Music 101
To Sir With Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8-M_wg8AI4
It’s a movie, and it’s a song. It’s also been covered by Natalie Merchant and Michael Stipe, the cast of Glee, and most recently two female cast members from Saturday Night Live. This is Lulu, who also sang it in the role of Babs in the 1967 film starring Sidney Poitier (the antecedent to Dead Poets’ Society, in a sense). The song hit No. 1 in the autumn of 1967 and remained there for five weeks, and if you read this site at all, you know that any song that made it to No. 1 from 1966 to 1969 is almost certainly a classic. I think it’s the contrast between the poignant verse and then that kickin’ drumbeat during the chorus myself.
Always loved Merchant’s and Stipe’s version, too (sung in tribute to Bill Clinton at his ’93 inaugural; don’t smirk), but that’s because Natalie has the voice of angel.
Remote Patrol
No Country For Old Men
IFC 5:15 p.m.
And he never was invited to perform a ceremonial coin toss. What a huge whiff by the NFL….
Or as I call it, A Series of Unfortunate Events (sans Limony Snicket). We are all just a product of the choices we make, kid. I think that’s what author Cormac McCarthy was trying to say here. This Coen brothers film won four Oscars, including Best Picture, and it deserved them.
WORLD NEWS: Because the United States is outnumbered and outeducated, and if we nuked them all we would kill ourselves.
UKRAINE
There has been an uptick in hostilities in eastern Ukraine. In a nutshell, the Kiev government troops are attacking the rebels (liberating the people?) in and around the town of Adviivka, where the people are being used as pawns in a conflict that has the potential to spark an International war. You should note the existence of the Donetsk People’s Republic, which is a self-proclaimed country inside Ukraine, where the rebels and terrorists (heroes and patriots, depending upon whose side you might be standing) are apparently being supported by Russia with both humanitarian and military aid. According to some reports, a few dozen people were killed over the last few days, and the conflict does not appear to have an end in sight.
DIAOYU ISLANDS
For most of us in the USA, these islands (also called the Senkaku Islands) are insignificant. They are located fairly close to Taiwan, and not too far from China. Traditionally, the islands belonged to China, but were conquered by Japan in 1895 (the First Sino-Japanese War). Then, the USA (and USSR) conquered Japan in (Ed. Note: SPOILER ALERT!) World War II, which meant the Diaoyu Islands were administered by the US military. In 1972 the USA returned these islands to Japan (ignoring that Japan had stolen the islands from China). This is all news now because China wants the islands back, Japan wants to keep the islands, and the USA Defense Secretary James Mattis just sided with Japan on this dispute on his recent visit to Japan.
IRAN
The USA wrestling team that was scheduled to compete in the International World Cup Freestyle Competition on February 16-17, 2017 has been banned by Iran. Although talks are apparently continuing behind the scenes, it appears that the USA Wrestlers have been forced to suffer for Trump’s politics of exclusion. This move to ban the wrestlers comes after Trump banned travelers from Iran, and after Trump tweeted that Iran is “playing with fire.” Apparently, Iran is not going to back down (like the Democrats in Congress apparently want to do). (Ed. Note: It’s almost as if Iran’s government pulled a reversal on Trump’s move, which if I knew something about wrestling, I could tell you how many points that’s worth).
Michael DePaoli is the author of the NSFW ebook: Invective (A Polemic About The American Islam Thing, In Defense Of Ben Affleck, Because Our Government Is Supposed To Be A Government Contract)
*The judges will also accept “Kevin Can Wait (To Play In New York),” “Try The Beal,” “No Travel Ban In The NBA” and, of course, that old stand-by, “Carmelodrama”
As trade rumors swirl, Kevin Love scores 39 as the Cavs outlast the Wizards in OT, 140-135.
–The Wizards’ 17-game home win streak is snapped.
–LeBron took 4 steps (“The extra step that I took, which was a travel, threw me off of my rhythm“), the refs kept their thumbs in their arses and didn’t blow, but still missed a potential game-tying layup in the final minute. Then, as after the Wizards hit one of two free throws to make it a three point lead, LBJ did this (the best move an LBJ has made in D.C. since the 1964 Civil Rights Act):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWhRtowbmOQ
A reminder that Love’s inbound pass was sick, and that his middle name is “Wesley,” after the king of outlet passes, Wesley “Wes” Unseld, the Hall-of-Famer for the Washington Bullets.
—Bradley Beal put up 41 points for the Wizards.
–LeBron had a career-high 17 assists and, responding to a piece in The Daily News by ATH regular Frank Isola earlier in the day claiming that he was maneuvering the Cavs to trade Love for Melo, said, “”It’s trash. And the guy who wrote it is trash, too, for writing that.”
Then he posted a Winston Churchill quote on his Instagram account. It wasn’t this one, but we repeat it here because we love it so much: Woman: “If I were your wife, I’d put poison in your tea.” WC: “If I were your husband, I’d drink it.” (If only people said, “Sick burn!” in the 1920s).
2. Blah Blah O’Reilly
The Donald Trump-Bill O’Reilly (TAPED) interview before Super Bowl LI is garnering much attention for the president’s refusal to say anything negative about Vladimir Putin and for his, “There are a lot of killers, we got a lot of killers. What, you think our country’s so innocent?” line (7:38 above)
O’Reilly then went on to disputing that assertion (cue scene from The Godfather, below), but what he should have done instead is what the moderator in the opening scene of The Newsroom did to Will McAvoy (“I’m not letting you go back to the airport without answering the question…”). That is, hold Trump’s tiny feet to the fire.
O’Reilly’s best question, shortly before Trump’s “There are a lot of killers” line, was, “Why do you respect [Putin]?” And he should have stayed there. When Trump said, “He’s a leader of a country,” that was O’Reilly’s opportunity to point out that so had been Hitler, or Idi Amin, or Josef Stalin. Did he respect them, too? If so, bigger problem. If not, then what else about Putin makes you respect him? Name one single thing. Instead of moving on to other issues—which other TV interviewers have also done with Trump, e.g. David Muir—O’Reilly should have kept chewing where there was some meat on the bone. You never get anywhere in a Trump interview if you go the buffet route. Find an issue where he will contradict himself, and stay there.
It’s supposed to be a No-Spin Zone, after all, Bill.
3. Robe V. Wade
A story that appeared on The (Failing) New York Timeswebsite on Sunday evening alleged the following:
“Usually around 6:30 p.m., or sometimes later, Mr. Trump retires upstairs to the residence to recharge, vent and intermittently use Twitter. With his wife, Melania, and young son, Barron, staying in New York, he is almost always by himself…When Mr. Trump is not watching television in his bathrobe or on his phone reaching out to old campaign hands and advisers, he will sometimes set off to explore the unfamiliar surroundings of his new home.”
The bold phrase seemed to bother the White House more than the rest of the story. But they’re upset for the wrong reason, methinks. They’re claiming the prez doesn’t walk around in a robe. I’m wondering, What’s wrong with that? It’s his house, after all. And it’s after 6:30 p.m. What do you want him to wear? Sweats? Cargo shorts? His favorite flannel boxers (perhaps I’m giving away too much personal info here?)
4. Jersey? Sure
Have you seen this jersey?
We all know that Putin stole Robert Kraft’s Super Bowl ring (maybe that’s why Donald respects him), but who stole Tom Brady’s Super Bowl jersey? I mean, c’mon, this should be a solvable crime. Brady doffed it in the locker room and placed it in his bag. Anyone in there had to have a credential or be a player or coach.
The Texas Rangers (the law and order outfit, not the baseball franchise) have offered to assist in its recovery.
Maybe this is it?
A little over two weeks ago I was standing in front of Brady’s locker in New England, late in the “locker room talk” proceedings. He had already left. Other reporters were so focused on talking to LaGarrette Blount, whose locker is next to Brady’s, that I realized I probably could’ve swiped anything I wanted to. Most peculiar item: An elephant-buddha totem about four inches tall.
I didn’t swipe it, but it wouldn’t have been difficult. Anyway, I think the person who took it is a sports media person. I’m not accusing anyone, but would it really surprise anyone if PFTCommenter showed up somewhere holding a “Is Matt Ryan A MVP QB?” sign wearing that white No. 12?
Bigger mystery: What is PFTCommenter’s actual name???
5. Life Goals: Oscar Luncheon
They held the Oscar luncheon on Monday, in which every person nominated in every category is invited to attend. A few years ago a friend of a friend was nominated for his documentary on hospice care inside of prisons (it aired on HBO) and I was so jealous of him for being able to bask in that glow (not as jealous about the six months he spent inside a prison in Illinois). This man, a sweetheart of a guy, actually approached Meryl Streep and told her that she really was very proficient with her accents, and of course Meryl could not have been more gracious with accepting that “compliment.”
Anyway, I hope everyone broke out into “Another Day of Sun” *dance number in the parking lot afterward.
*The real “Best Original Song” from this film
Music 101
Feels So Good
The year was 1978 and a flugelhorn player named Chuck Mangione had the No. 4 hit in the U.S.A., a song entirely without lyrics. Was this our national #Resist movement against disco? I don’t know. Could such a song chart today? Heck, no.
I just remember every time this came on the radio I’d reach up from the back seat (youngest in family of five; I don’t think I sat shotgun until I was at least 13). I don’t have anything personal against Chuck; I just resent him because maybe if he hadn’t come along, we’d never have had to deal with Kenny G.
Remote Patrol
Debate Night In America: Bernie Sanders vs. Ted Cruz
9 p.m. CNN
If there is wagering, I’m taking Bernie and laying the points….
This is a thing now? Losers debating one another? I thought we already had that show: it’s called First Take (or Undisputed). Will this soon be a tournament format? “The winner will meet Marco Rubio in the semifinals…”