A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
"A woman whose initials, when spoken aloud, not only describe her mind but her body and soul." *Snork* She hasn't changed these past nine years, inside and out.
That interview needed a song, which Randy provided his second time around with her in Just BE BEST!
THE RANDY RAINBOW SHOW: "Just Be Best!"
Randy has changed; he didn't include that this a parody of "Be Our Guest" in the video description, although maybe he didn't need to; it's exactly what I expected.
That's a wrap for today and the month of February. Stay tuned for highlights of tonight's Saturday Night Live as tomorrow's Sunday entertainment feature to begin March's blogging. SNL has lots of news to laugh at so we and they don't cry.
Thank you to our fearless Razzie® Voting Members who picked through a vast amount of solid sludge to extract these fine pearls of mediocrity! And giving a special callout to Travis Morrow!
Go to Razzies.com for the full list of nominees as they duke it out for the $4.97 Razzie Statuette!
HOLLYWOOD, WE NEED TO TALK!
Where is that safer, happier and more inspiring place - Disneyland? Well, even Disney bungled that!
46th Annual Golden Raspberry (Razzie®) Nominations
Among the 2026 titles competing for the $4.97 gold spray-painted Worst Picture Statuette are:
The $320 million production of a well-regarded graphic novel, that despite the highly touted talent involved, fell flat on originality, execution and heart - The Electric State
A vanity project that doesn't move fast enough towards the ending - Hurry Up Tomorrow
A slow-paced unnecessary re-imagining of a classic, filled with drawn-out musical numbers, dopey CGI dwarfs, and enough mediocrity to leave the audience in a very unhappy place - Disney's Snow White (2025)
A convoluted mess beaming its audience to a frontier that could finally bring this once inspiring franchised journey to a screeching halt - Star Trek: Section 31.
And if butchering an H.G. Wells classic by stringing together video chats, surveillance cams and FaceTime with panic attacks makes for a compelling film experience - please allow the robots to attack and get it over with! - War Of The Worlds (2025)
I got a record number of comments on my recent video on what Project 2025 means for cities and transportation, and a shocking number of them were abjectly stupid. Let's review.
Seeing Ray "CityNerd" Delahanty's advice to check voter registrations and register if one hasn't already also reminded me that yesterday was National Voter Registration Day, an event I've been supporting since I was a director for the Coffee Party. Consequently, I second CityNerd's suggestion!
After strikes, lingerings of a worldwide plague and a general sense of universal agoraphobia, the decline of the cinematic experience goes without saying. Thankfully, a doll and a bomb movie jump-started The Industry, which still left behind a trail of Pooh for the Razzies® to pick up!
According to the press release, Expend4bles leads with seven nominations, followed by Exorcist: Believer and Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey with five, Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania with four, and Meg 2: The Trench with three. The Hollywood Reporter dutifully reported these numbers along with the leading nominees in Razzie Awards 2024 Nominations Revealed: 'Expend4bles' Leads the Pack.
Awards season doesn't just mean honoring the best of the best. The Razzies unveiled their annual nominations, which honor the worst of the year. Leading the nominations for the Razzies or more formally known as the Golden Raspberry Awards are 'Expend4bles' which earned 7 including worst picture.
Unfortunately, the Razzies made at least two math errors and The Hollywood Reporter didn't catch them. I knew to look for them, as I observed two years ago and repeated last year, "the people behind the Razzies do not have the best math skills and attention to detail, so they make mistakes when counting nominations. This year was no exception..." This year's error was not in the number of nominations for Expend4bles; the bad mercenary movie really does have seven nominations. It's that Exorcist: Believer also has seven, not five. They are: Worst Picture, Worst Actor for Russell Crowe, Worst Supporting Actor for Franco Nero, Any 2 Money-Grubbing Investors Who Donated to the $400 Million
for Remake Rights to The Exorcist, Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel, Worst Director for David Gordon Green, and Worst Screenplay. Oops. Even if the Worst Screen Couple doesn't count, and I think the category should because it did for Expend4bles and Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, it still has more than five. In addition, the Razzies missed that Ghosted also has three nominations, Worst Actor for Chris Evans, Worst Actress for Ana De Armas, and Worst Screen Couple for both of them, tying it with Meg 2: The Trench. Double oops. Still, I expected no better from the Razzies, which is why I looked. I'm just surprised that The Hollywood Reporter hasn't learned to check the Razzies' math.
Enough of that. As I wrote last year, "I pay attention to the Razzies because they usually recognize the worst big-budget genre films and sniff out bad political films. They didn't disappoint me this year, as they recognized some poorly done genre films." In addition, both Expend4bles and Ghosted are action-comedies about politics and government. Both of them are examples of "there is nothing unfunnier than a bad comedy."
Speaking of mistakes, I just missed an opportunity to brag about a prediction. I wrote "it wouldn't surprise me if Waller-Bridge earned a Razzie nomination for [her] role" in 'Barbie' vs. 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' for Best Fantasy Film at the Saturn Awards. Fortunately, that didn't happen, as I also wrote "I think that would be unjustified, as I enjoyed her performance." I was thinking of writing that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny would earn a Razzie nomination for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel in my response to Infidel753's second comment, but I didn't follow through. Darn, as the movie earned two nominations for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel, as I expected, and Worst Screenplay. I think that makes it the only movie nominated at both the Oscars for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score) and the Razzies. Congratulations?
I also didn't blog about the Razzie winners last year, so I conclude by including 43rd Razzie® Award Winners!
Besides “wins” for the iconic actor, marvel character and bizarre biopic, the Razzies for the first time in their history, took a Razzie themselves. After their blunder of nominating someone who should not have been considered, the organization was put through the cyberworld blender. They publicly apologized to the actress, changed the rules for anyone under 18, rescinded the nomination and put themselves in her place on the ballot - which won by a landslide. Watch Razz Berry's acceptance speech.
At least the Razzies acknowledged one of their mistakes, which was for judgment, not math. They followed their own advice of "own your bad." Good for them.
Gold Derby hasn't made any predictions for the Razzies or the Oscars yet. When they do, I'll return with their odds. Stay tuned.
Russia’s Interior Ministry has issued an arrest warrant for Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C, after he praised U.S. military aid to Ukraine as “the best money we’ve ever spent.” The South Carolina senator said Monday "it brings me immense joy" to know that his support for Ukraine “has drawn the ire of Putin’s regime.”
I have the same reaction to this news that I had to my ex-wife after she threatened to throw me out 30 years ago: "I can understand you throwing me out after doing the wrong thing. I don't understand you wanting to throw me out for doing the right thing." Russia is threatening to arrest Senator Graham after he did the right thing, so Russia in general and Vladimir Putin in particular can go fly a kite.
Russia has banned hundreds of U.S. citizens, including former President Obama, Joe Scarborough, Rachel Maddow and Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger from entering its territory. The Morning Joe panel discusses.
Vladimir Putin has signaled support for Donald Trump with new sanctions targeting Trump’s critics. Putin’s likely subsequent influence on the MAGA base is analyzed by former CIA director John Brennan who tells Joy Reid, "I find it hard to believe in this day and age, particularly after the bloody assault and plundering of Ukraine, that any American would look favorably upon Vladimir Putin[.]”
All of this confirms what I wrote seven years ago: Trump and Putin havea bad bromance. I have something more complementary to say to Graham and the 500+ Americans on Russia's sanction list: Congratulations, you have the right enemies.
Remember that time Elon Musk unveiled the new Cybertruck, and when he went to demonstrate the vehicle's supposedly "bulletproof glass," two of the windows smashed? The Twitter rollout of the Ron DeSantis campaign went kinda like that.
LOL. The glitchy opening of the DeSantis-Musk Twitter space stole the show and made for an inauspicious opening to DeSantis's campaign.
The presidential race has a new big-name candidate as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis officially announced his run Wednesday. The Republican is a headline machine, shaping national fights over COVID policies, education and immigration. But he faces an uphill climb against former ally Donald Trump. Lisa Desjardins discussed the race with former Rep. Carlos Curbelo, who served in Congress with DeSantis.
That's a good summary and former Representative Carlos Curbelo at least made a good effort at answering "why Twitter?" PBS NewHour ignored the technical glitches. It was trying to be sober and impartial, which MSNBC certainly wasn't.
By the way, Randy Rainbow included this news item in the video description: "Hey! I'm a 2023 Grammy Nominee for Best Comedy Album! Check out my debut album A LITTLE BRAINS, A LITTLE TALENT wherever music is sold or streamed." That reminds me that I haven't written about the Grammy nominees until today. It's now on my to-do list.
We got vaccines, which are helping to turn COVID-19 pandemic into a more manageable endemic disease. I was hoping for elimination, but as The Rolling Stones sing, you can't always get what you want. Still, we got what we needed.
The Closer – Dave Chappelle Comedy Monster – Jim Gaffigan A Little Brains, A Little Talent – Randy Rainbow Sorry – Louis C.K. We All Scream – Patton Oswalt
That's a very tough field of established comedians. Dave Chappelle and Louis C.K. have won this category three times each with Louis C.K. last year's winner, Patton Oswalt has won it once, and Jim Gaffigan has been nominated seven times. This is Randy Rainbow's first Grammy nomination and he should feel flattered to be in their company. If he doesn't win, which is a distinct possibility, he can at least take comfort that he's the host of the pre-show. He'll be on stage no matter what!
You’ve seen it in the comment section before: “Climate change is natural. It’s happened before and it will keep happening”. In reality, comments like these are the newest kind of climate change denial. In this video we’re going to learn about all the reasons that Earth’s climate changes, natural and otherwise, and then how we know that modern climate change can’t be blamed on natural forces. Maybe we can finally put this biggest myth about climate change in the trash.
I have mentioned several times that I'm a paleontologist who studies Pleistocene fossils, particularly snails. What I don't mention is that I used data from the snails, clams, and plants of Rancho La Brea to reconstruct the late Pleistocene climate of southern California, so I'm quite familiar with natural climate change. That's why I was able to respond intelligently to Ed, the troll who was better than a spammer, when he snarked "Maybe you can tell us what the climate is supposed to be so we will know if it's changing too much."
Ed, actually, I can. The average temperature of the Northern Hemisphere should be almost two degrees Fahrenheit cooler than it is today based on the pre-1900 temperature trend, three degrees based on the progress of previous interglacials. If you want the reasoning and evidence, you will have to wait until I put together an entire entry with links; it will take more effort than a simple comment is worth. In the meantime, count your blessings that you stumbled onto someone who actually knows the answer to what you may have thought was a rhetorical question too hard to answer.
That was back in 2015. He persisted his climate change denial trolling for three more years, when he asked "What was the Climate Science Special Report in the years 1818 and 1918?"
Strictly speaking, there wouldn't have been any, as the document is a product of the Global Change Research Act of 1990, which I mentioned in R.I.P. George H.W. Bush, the last Republican President I voted for. However, a 1818 report would have been written at the tail end of the Little Ice Age right after The Year Without a Summer, so it would have reported continued cold climate. As for 1918, would have been written after a brief warm spell that happened after another prolonged cooling trend. In both cases, a warmer climate might have been welcome. That's not the case now. It's warming up too quickly.
As I wrote, better than a spammer. Those, I just insult and delete. Ed at least sparked intelligent answers. Too bad I haven't seen him here since November 2, 2020, when I told him so.
By the way, not only are you better than a spammer, you provide a service; your comments tell me when my posts are linked over at Crooks&Liars. Thank you. Based on the comments, you apparently spend a lot of time hate-reading liberals. I know some liberals who do that with conservatives, but I don't understand the attraction beyond "know your enemy" and "keep your friends close and your enemies closer." If I don't like a person and don't like their ideas, I won't read them. I think it's a wasted of time.
Ed hasn't been back since.
Enough reality. Stay tuned as I return to television tomorrow.
Since December, workers have led a surge of unionization unlike anything this country has seen since the Great Depression. It's happening at arduous workplaces like one Amazon warehouse in New York, but it's also hitting an entirely new sector: retail and big tech. First-ever unions have now formed at more than 200 Starbucks, an Apple store in Maryland, a Google Fiber contractor, REI, Trader Joe's, Kickstarter, and a gaming division of Microsoft. Here's why experts say it's happening now, and why these progressive companies are fighting back against the movements.
One of the contributing factors has been the pandemic.
"It has to do with the pandemic," said Laura Garza, a barista who helped organize her New York City-based Starbucks location, which voted to unionize in April. "It made a lot of workers that continued to work during the pandemic reevaluate what is most important to them. And honestly, it has to go to better pay, livable wage for everybody."
In addition to the pandemic conditions, numerous other factors have collided to create what labor experts call a perfect storm for organizing. The U.S. has seen four decades of stagnant wages. Companies that already had healthy profits before the pandemic made even more money after lockdowns. And there are lots of jobs available without enough applicants to fill them. What's more, the Biden administration is pro-union.
We answered a viewer’s question about the decline of unionization.
...
“How come we’ve seen such a decline in unionization in the US?” That’s the question we received from one of our viewers, Cameron when we put out a call for topics to explain. It comes at an interesting time.
Earlier this year, the Amazon Labor Union won its first election at a large warehouse in New York, and more than 200 Starbucks locations have voted to unionize since baristas in Buffalo broke the seal in December 2021. The National Labor Relations Board reports that petitions for union elections are up 56 percent this year compared to 2021.
This level of energy and momentum in the labor movement is remarkable in light of the long, steep decline in union membership rates since the 1950s. Social science has limited tools for establishing what caused that decline, and different experts tend to emphasize different factors. But in the video above, we dig into a few key drivers of low union density in the US relative to other wealthy countries.
Seeing those clips from 1950s documentaries gave me flashbacks to TheEndofSuburbia, which used at least one of those same clips. In this context, they support the thesis that unionization contributed to the elevation of the working class to middle-class lifestyles and then how unions became the victims of their own success. As I'm fond of mentioning, the point serves as an example for two of Commoner's Laws: Everything is connected to everything else and there is no free lunch. Just the same, as a unionized worker myself, I support the unionization efforts, even if they cost me more at the store. The money will be going to support the workers.
If you’re looking for cocktail ideas to spice up your Labor Day Weekend celebrations, you’re in luck! Mixologist Josh Alden with Reserve 101, has 2 easy recipes perfect to entertain guests or simply unwind on your day off.
I'm beginning to wonder if "It's always five o'clock somewhere" means 5:00 P.M. or 5:00 A.M. to morning show anchors who drink as part of their job. I hope they have designated drivers.
Former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon was found guilty on one count of refusing to appear for a congressional deposition and one count of refusing to produce documents to the Jan. 6 committee. NBC News’ Pete Williams reports.
Bannon may have been pardoned for mail fraud, but he's almost certain to face jail time for contempt of Congress, barring the very rare event the judge reverses the guilty verdict (very unlikely considering that Bannon already has a sentencing date of October 21, three months away) or it's overturned on appeal (not unheard of, but again not likely).
See the moment when news broke that Trump campaign chief Steve Bannon was found guilty on two counts of contempt of Congress. Bannon was convicted by a jury for defying a congressional subpoena and stonewalling the January 6th Committee. MSNBC’s Chief Legal Correspondent Ari Melber reports on the case, and gives analysis on what it means for the first Trump aide to be convicted in the January 6th probe.
The legal analysts pointed out how quickly the jury deliberated (about an hour between MSNBC reporting that the case had gone to the jury and the report of the guilty verdicts), as well as the importance of the conviction.
Trump’s campaign chief Steve Bannon is found guilty on two counts of contempt of Congress. Veteran federal prosecutor Joyce Vance joins MSNBC’s Chief Legal Correspondent Ari Melber breaking down why Bannon faces one month to two years in a Washington D.C. jail.
"The guy who's blowing the whistle in the background is making more sense than the words that are coming out of Steve Bannon's mouth here." Hahahahaha! That was entertaining snark.
Speaking of entertainment, stay tuned for the next installment of the EmmyAwards series for the Sunday entertainment feature.
Beamed live from outer space ... Razz Barry solicits the help of local aliens to deliver Hollywood's most un-coveted $4.97 trophy for 2021's worst achievements in film. Even they were stupefied by the glut of Razzie fodder.
I like calling the mascot "Razz Barry." I've been following these awards for years and haven't seen it used before. it's about time, if not a little late, as Google search reveals previous uses of "Razz Barry." I hope the Razzies manage to hold onto the name.
The bulk of the tacky, gold-spray-painted statuettes were “won” by two films. The NetFlix/streaming version of the year’s biggest Broadway bomb, Diana: The Musical “won” in five categories: Worst Picture (which critics said “makes Cats “Look like a masterpiece!”); Worst Actress (Jeanna deWaal as a twitterpated version of the Princess of Wales), Worst Supporting Actress (Judy Kaye in a dual role), Worst Director (Christopher Ashley) and Worst Screenplay (featuring some of the year’s most ridiculed dialogue and lyrics – Including rhyming “Camilla” with both “Manilla” and “Godzilla”).
Dribbling into second place with three “wins” was Space Jam: A New Legacy, more of a remake than a sequel, called out as a 115 minute commercial for all things WarnerMedia. Basketball phenom LeBron James was the MVP in both Worst Actor and Worst Screen Couple (along with all those cartoon co-stars and product plugs) while the film itself was chosen Worst Remake/Rip-Off or Sequel.
Other winners included Jared Leto (rhymes with “Gepetto”) for Supporting Actor, giving a controversial performance as “Paolo” in House of Gucci; 4-time past Razzie® “winner” Will Smith, praised for his performance in Oscar favorite King Richard and awarded as this year’s Razzie® Redeemer; and Bruce Willis in Cosmic Sin, chosen from among eight low budget movies nominated in the special category Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie.
Not only did "Diana the Musical," which is about the British Royal Family, so politics and government by default, earn the most nominations, it earned the most trophies, making it the worst movie (actually a variety special like "Hamilton") about politics and government last year. Also, "Space Jam: A New Legacy" earned the second highest number of statuettes, making it the worst big-budget speculative fiction movie of 2021. That covered both of my interests in movies and television.
Speaking of speculative fiction, Jared Leto will be starring in "Morbius," which premieres on April 1st — no fooling. His award fits a pattern I noticed six years ago.
In addition to the covert misogyny I suspect among the voters, there is overt Schadenfreude; the voters seem to delight in finding bad performances by big name performers and creators and using them to bring the highest low. I don't have a problem with that, so I find it to be a useful role for the Razzies.
I just hope his Razzie win doesn't ruin his reception as Marvel's "living vampire." Instead, I hope it helps for making people prepared for the comic, pun intended, dimensions of his anti-heroic character, which just might make the movie succeed.
As for success and anti-heroic behavior, I wonder what the Razzies think of Will Smith winning Razzie Redeemer after his performance last night. That's all I'll write about that for now. Stay tuned for my coverage of my Oscar winners to see if I have anything more to say about it.
I don't know if that was a fair summary of the speech, but it sure was a good highlight reel of the evening's funnier moments...Excluding Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert heckling Biden. I think Stephen and his writers made the right decision to ignore "Bizarro Betty and Veronica" except for connecting Greene to mental health. That could have come off as meaner, but I'm not very sympathetic to her.
Seth takes a closer look at President Biden using his first State of the Union address to condemn Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and warn him that he has no idea what the U.S. and its allies will do next.
On the one hand, I think this sketch worked as a fair summary of Biden's speech, at least concerning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On the other, Seth couldn't resist Boebert and Greene as easy comedy targets. I just hope his prediction that they will eventually turn on each other comes true. If so, it would be life imitating art, or at least reality TV.
Seth takes a closer look at the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, berating high school students for wearing masks while Fox News continues to attack Biden's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
I think that mades five times that Seth made fun of ChuckSchumer's false start. I also think that's enough.
Seth takes a closer look at Vladimir Putin rattling the world by raising the alert status of Russia's nuclear forces as Republicans gathered for the Conservative Political Action Conference and refused to condemn Trump for praising Putin.
I think Greene was showing her true colors, even if she's denying them. The same with Mike Lindell, who showed why he deserved his two Razzies.
Not only was "Absolute Proof" the worst political film of 2020, but, according to the Razzies, the Worst Picture overall last year. I can't think of a more deserving stinker of a bad (faith) documentary.
Seth takes a closer look at House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy saying he will not cooperate with the Jan 6 probe and Mike Lindell’s plan to prove there was fraud in the 2020 election.
Seth hearkened back to two news stories that he used for this week's previous closer looks, Ted Cruz on Fox News and The Former Guy on NPR. Neither of those went well for the interviewees. Follow over the jump to watch those.
Texas Democrats leaving the state for D.C. wasn't the only serious political event happening while I was busy observing holidays. Trump's attorneys in the hearings and lawsuits that alleged election fraud in Michigan appeared before a federal judge Monday to argue why they shouldn't be sanctioned. I found three videos about that story, beginning with Rachel Maddow on MSNBC reporting Pro-Trump Lawyers Called Out In Court.
Rachel Maddow talks with David Fink, attorney for the city of Detroit in the case in which pro-Trump attorneys are facing possible sanctions from a federal judge over their involvement in a lawsuit attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Michigan.
Maddow and David Fink made clear the connection between the legal attempts to overturn the election results and January 6coup attempt. Both are expressions of the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen. Fink also made his case that the lawyers advancing Trump's case should not only be sanctioned, but disbarred. So did Michigan's Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson when Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon interviewed them about the sanctions hearing, which CNN spliced together into Trump election lawyer faces possible sanctions over thin fraud claims.
A judge in Michigan pinned down lawyers in a marathon video court hearing Monday on whether they had done due diligence before filing election fraud claims in federal court in November. The grilling came in a hearing over whether the Trump-supporting lawyers should be penalized -- with the possible consequence of losing their law licenses -- following their lawsuit to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Much of the six-hour hearing hinged on Judge Linda Parker's line-by-line questioning about broad claims the lawyers had made alleging fraud and about sworn statements they had submitted to court from supposed witnesses speculating about ballot malfeasance, sometimes based on second- and third-hand chatter.
Ultimately the hearing became a painstaking recounting of the thinness of the claims supporting election fraud, and it came as former President Donald Trump has continued to repeat lies about the election's result and, in recent days, has rallied fellow Republicans around his claims.
Several state and national officials have verified the security of the 2020 presidential election and the integrity of its result: that Trump lost multiple swing states, including Michigan.
The judge on Monday repeatedly asked how much work the lawyers had done to verify the fraud claims. In response, several argued that they did not need to do that, if the witnesses believed that what they were saying was true. Fact-finding could be done during the course of the lawsuit, the attorneys who filed it argued.
At one point, Parker, sitting in the Eastern District of Michigan, asked the nine lawyers who took part in bringing the lawsuit if they had ever followed up to learn if any of their so-called witnessed actually saw a vote being changed.
Personally, I'd rather call it Trump's dangerous delusion, his fixed belief that the election was stolen from him despite allevidence, which I see as related to his vulnerabilitytoconspiracy theories, but "the Big Lie" is the established phrase used by CNBC and others, so I'm calling it that instead. It's a lie, too.
Powell shows that Trump's delusion is not just dangerous but contagious and when its believers said the suits were "releasing the Kraken," they were really releasing the Krak(pot)en(ing). I liked the Kraken better in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.
In a hearing this week on possible sanctions for Trump-allied lawyers, a federal judge questioned whether the attorneys had done their due diligence before filing a lawsuit in Michigan last November in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Washington Post political investigations and enterprise reporter Rosalind Helderman joined CBSN to discuss the hearing.
This case shows that it's time for Rudy to retire and I think his suspensions will finally make that happen. As for Trump's lawyers in Michigan, I watched the hearing and heard the judge gave the attorneys two weeks to prepare briefs. I expect her ruling shortly afterwards. I hope to report on it here when that happens. Stay tuned.
I'm still in an "I can't be all DOOM all the time" mood, so instead of covering fallingbirthrates, I'm delivering the second half of the "double edition of babynamesfromentertainment" I said I was writing at the beginning of Top baby names of 2019 and 2020 for Father's Day weekend. That's because I started looking at "Star Wars" and "Game of Thrones" names beginning with Kylo at the Social Security Administration website after I posted yesterday's entry and couldn't resist indulging my curiosity.
Anakin also increased in popularity last year, jumping 255 places from 959 to 704 for the seventeenth largest rise in rank. 2020 was also the best year for the name in its history. Despite that good news, the trend I noticed two years ago culminated in Kylo handily passing Anakin in popularity. Kylo can tell his grandfather that now, he is the master, just as Darth Vader told Obi-Wan in "A New Hope."
Not all "Star Wars" names from the new trilogy fared as well. Rey as a boys name continued sinking, falling 86 places to 888 in 2020 from 802 in 2019. Rey still hasn't cracked the top 1000 girls names, although the actress's name Daisy ticked up 21 places from 164 to 143, the highest position it has held since 2003. Finn had already been popular before "The Force Awakens," but the movie made it more popular, reaching a peak in 2018 at 166. Since then, its popularity slowly sunk to 173 in 2019 and 178 in 2020.
Names from the original trilogy have been doing well, especially Leia, which the following chart shows having its second best year ever in 2020.
While Leia jumped 38 places from 333 to 295 between 2019 and 2020, last year wasn't the peak of its popularity so far. That title belongs to 2017, when the name held rank 282. Luke, a name popular long before Star Wars existed, has held fairly steady after a long slow rise, ranking 32 in 2019 and 31 in 2020. The Force is with both siblings, or at least their names.
Follow over the jump to see how names from "Game of Thrones" and other entertainment franchises have fared the past two years.
In this edition of Stephen's unfortunately ongoing segment, he looks at damning findings of law enforcement failures leading up to the Jan 6th Capitol riot, and an insane election fraud theory known as "Italygate."
Seth takes a closer look at Donald Trump reportedly believing he'll be "reinstated" in the White House as some of his allies and supporters openly call for a coup.
Before I move on to the main conspiracy theories, I have to remark about Seth mentioning Rudy Guiliani's video about UFOs. On the one hand, I feel the same about addressing the official interest in UFOs as I do about "Fauci's emails and...the Wuhan lab-leak hypothesis, two narratives that I want to give as little attention to as possible." On the other, I have described this blog as having a "science fiction slant" on its Facebook page, so writing about the topic is on brand. I have two opportunities to do so, as there are two World UFO Days coming up, June 24 and July 2. Maybe by then I'll feel up to it.
As for "Italygate," Seth found it even more ridiculous than Stephen did. He also thought the idea that Trump wore his pants backwards was silly and quoted Snopes debunking it. Progressives have their own conspiracy theories, although they are a lot less convoluted and dangerous than the ones being promoted on the right, like the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen.
After the internet delighted in the possibility that America's previous president was copying a look from the legendary rap duo Kriss Kross, people may be disappointed to hear that fact checkers have proven the president was not wearing his pants backwards at a speech in North Carolina last weekend.
While going back to the studio is more good news about the pandemic, I can tell Stephen is getting punchy from cabin fever after fifteen months of recording his show from home, but I think that made his monologues even more hilarious. Still, I will miss hearing his wife and crew laughing in the background when he returns to the studio next week. Stephen might also miss being able to do his show from home while wearing shirtsleeves and slippers.
Stephen's line about Trump "spends so much time yanking stuff out of his keister he just likes to have the zipper back there to make it easy" reminds me of one of my favorite insults of BS artists: If so-and-so ever had an intestinal blockage, he'd run out of material. After ten plus years of blogging, I finally got to use it here. Thanks, Stephen, for giving me the opening.
Stephen closed with space news. I really will have to cover both Jeff Bezos going into space and UFOs. Stay tuned for posts about those, eventually.
Colonial Pipeline was forced to temporarily shut down all operations in its system spanning from Texas to New Jersey after a major cyberattack involving ransomware. The company transports more than 100 million gallons of refined products per day, and the attack is leading to fears of a spike in gas prices. NBC’s Kathy Park reports for Sunday TODAY.
Republican polling shows the former president with high unfavorable ratings, yet the party's leaders remain keen to punish anyone who breaks with No. 45, prompting Stephen to ask: has there ever been anyone in government as weak as Kevin McCarthy?
Bamboo in the ballot paper? That prompted me to leave the following comment to Meanwhile in Arizona… at Mock, Paper, Scissors.
It looks like the GQP has decided to celebrate Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with stupid Sinophobia, fear and hatred of China and the Chinese. Dudes, you're doing it wrong! Anyone want to bet that these fools are circulating memes that invoke Fu Manchu (and not just Nicholas Cage playing him for laughs in "Werewolf Women of the SS")? I don't want to search; it's bad enough that I know Corona-chan is a thing.
As for his question about Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy being weak, I remember then-Speaker John Boehner having trouble keeping the Tea Party caucus in line. This was a few months after Rachel Maddow said "I think John Boehner is bad at his job." He eventually retired, leading to Paul Ryan taking over the speakership. I have a higher opinion of both of them than McCarthy, whose district I lived in 39 years ago. Boehner may be pickled — whenever I hear him making fun of Ted Cruz, I think "in vino veritas" — but my nickname for McCarthy is Pickled Tongue after a menu item at the leading Basque restaurant in his home town, a place I know, having lived there, too.
Seth takes a closer look at the Republican Party’s fealty to Donald Trump and purge of anyone who refuses to repeat his lies.
While Meyers examined the search for bamboo in ballot paper in even more detail than Colbert, he also expressed the same sentiment that I feel; I never thought I would be on the same side of an issue as Liz Cheney it makes me a bit uncomfortable. Chalk that up to a stuck clock being right twice a day.
That Elise Stefanik has become the leading candidate to replace Cheney strikes me as ironic if one considers this intra-party conflict is over conservatism. Voteview rates Stefanik's ideological score at 0.229, more liberal than 98% of House Republicans in the 117th Congress, while Cheney's ideological score is 0.515, exactly in the middle of the current House Republican Caucus. Replacing a mainstream conservative Republican with an ideological moderate shows this fight is not over conventional ideas of left and right. Instead, it is about loyalty to Trump, which is odd considering that major American political parties generally move away from losing presidential candidates. Not now — the GOP is sticking closer to Trump than ever.
In a Year When Everything Sucked, Everybody Gets a Little Something from The 41st Annual Razzie® Awards, Including a Governors’ Trophy for 2020 Itself!
ABSOLUTE PROOF, MUSIC, 365 DAYS, DOLITTLE and RUDY GIULIANI ALL SCORE $4.97 STATUETTES
The political movie here is the documentary "Absolute Proof," "MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's film claiming a Chinese cyberattack 'flipped' the 2020 election." I hope it gets the same treatment as "Hillary's America," which won Worst Picture over "Batman V. Superman." It probably won't — both "365 Days" and "Dolittle" have more nominations and I think "365 Days" is the worse film — but "Absolute Proof" is my pick for worst political film of 2020 for no other reason than it perpetrates the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen. I find that actively harmful.
Not only was "Absolute Proof" the worst political film of 2020, but, according to the Razzies, the Worst Picture overall last year. I can't think of a more deserving stinker of a bad (faith) documentary. That written, I misjudged its competition, as "Music" won more Razzies than any other film with three, Worst Director, Worst Actress, and Worst Supporting Actress.
Now for nominations of (bad) performers like Donald J. Trump, Kellyanne Conway, and Melania Trump two years ago. As much as I'm rooting for Lindell and Rudy Giuliani to follow in the footsteps of Trump and Conway, who won worst acting awards, Lindell, at least, is up against tough competition, Robert Downey, Jr. and David Spade for being big names in weak movies, Michele Morrone for being in a geniunely bad but popular movie, and Adam Sandler for being a perpetual target of the Razzies. It depends which variety of bad the Razzie voters want to recognize. As I repeatedly say about awards shows, electorates matter.
This year, the Razzie electorate voted to recognize Lindell's variety of awful "in a landslide." I approve. I also approve of the next two awards.
Rudy Guiliani really should have known better. I think Sasha Baron Cohen is mean-spirited prankster who doesn't like American conservatives and he gives that side of him full rein when he's Borat. Mind you, I think he's also hilarious, but his wit has barbs and a sharp point that is aimed at his interview subjects, particularly ones like Rudy.
That written, I have no sympathy for Giuliani and hope he "wins." I think he has a better chance of doing so than Lindell in his category, even against this field of famous actors in inferior movies.
As I wrote, I got my wish, both here and in the next category.
Maria Bakalova's performance earned an Oscar nomination, so it's not her fault that she's nominated here; it's Giuliani's. That written, while I want Giuliani to win this award as well, I'm not sure Bakalova deserves it. Still, she's the kind of actress who would make a great hilarious show of accepting and thanking her co-star. That would be worth seeing.
I got a fifth wish fulfilled in this category, as Rudy Giuliani's zipper replaced Maria Bakalova as the other part of this screen combo. As I wrote, she didn't deserve her part in the award, while Giuliani's zipper did. Sacha Baron Cohen can think Giuliani for adding two Razzies to the awards for "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm", just like he thanked Giuliani for his part in helping the comedy win two Golden Globes and a WGA Award. Giuliani deserves it.
"365 Days" and "Dolittle" also received the recognition they deserved, the former for winning Worst Screenplay and the latter for winning Worst Remake, Ripoff, or Sequel. I'll accept the Razzie voters' judgement for both, but especially the latter. I think "Wonder Woman 1984" wasn't nearly as bad as some people made it out to be and did not deserve its nominations, especially for Kristen Wiig. I liked her as Barbara Minerva/Cheetah and hope she returns in a sequel.
That's it for the Razzies. Stay tuned for coverage of the Oscars.
Yesterday, I observed that the former President's lawyers "provided a lot of unintentional comedy by either bumbling their way through their arguments (Bruce Castor) or making stupid and insulting arguments (David Schoen)." That became the theme of most of the "comedic observations of the trial" last night. I open the reactions with Trevor Noah's comedic criticism in Impeachment Trial Continues: Trump & GOP Slam Trump's Lawyers.
Trump’s second impeachment trial ramps up with the GOP bashing Trump’s lawyers, and Trump reportedly yelling at the television as he watched.
"No one was more upset by Trump's $#!++y lawyers than the man who was never going to pay them anyway, Donald J. Trump." Well, you get what you pay for.
Seth takes a closer look at Senate Republicans sticking with former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial despite the House impeachment managers' powerful evidence and the fact that Trump's lawyers are very bad.
For years, I've been saying on Facebook that Trump doesn't want to listen to his lawyers. He wants lawyers who listen to him. He should be careful what he wishes for. I think he's getting them, and they're not that good.
