PBS Terra lists '5 Warning Signs of Collapse We're Ignoring' plus presidential pets for Presidents Day

I promised the sequel to PBS Terra explains 'This Is How the World Ends According to Science', so I'm sharing 5 Warning Signs of Collapse We're Ignoring.

Is this how civilizations end? As climate disasters intensify, some cities survive — and others collapse. So what makes the difference?

In this episode of Weathered, host Maiya May investigates what history reveals about system collapse, failed cities, and civilizations that didn’t survive climate shocks. Were they doomed? Or did they miss warning signs we’re seeing today?

With climate disasters and global warming accelerating, researchers Luke Kemp and strategic climate risk expert Laurie Laybourn break down the common patterns behind civilization collapse — and the 5 strategies that can help modern societies avoid the same fate.

If you’ve ever wondered:

Is it the end of the world?

When do systems collapse?

Can cities survive climate change?

How do we prevent total societal collapse?

This episode explores what history teaches us — and why it’s not too late to change course.

Because collapse isn’t inevitable. But survival isn’t automatic either.

When I created this blog, I called it "A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it." I've shifted away from that, making this more "A blog about sustainability with a science fiction slant and a Detroit perspective," as it says on the Crazy Eddie's Motie News Facebook page (if you're still on Facebook, please follow), but I've never changed the description here after 15 years. That's because, deep down, I still believe in the mission I set for myself in March 2011.

On that note, here are the five strategies Maiya May and her guests propose to avoid collapse: situational awareness, adaptation, speed, democracy, and storytelling. On this blog, I'm sharing and telling stories to make people more aware of the situation, get prepared for the future, and encourage speedy responses and democracy. The last two seem like contradictions, as democracy is not known for rapid decisions, but I agree with May and her guests that both are necessary, if not easy. I hope my readers and I are up for the task.

Today is also Presidents Day, but I decided sharing the above was more important and productive than writing this year's version of John Oliver on 'Trump 2.0' for Presidents Day. Donald "Hoover Harding Cleveland" Trump gets enough attention and I want to starve him of his narcissistic supply. Instead, I'm sharing National Day Calendar's PRESIDENTS DAY | Third Monday in February.

On the third Monday in February, the United States celebrates the federal holiday known as Presidents Day. The day takes place during the birth month of the country's two most prominent presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. While the day once only honored President George Washington on his birthday, February 22nd, the day now never lands on a single president's birthday.

Across the country, most Americans know the day as Presidents Day. More and more of the population celebrates the day to honor all of the past United States Presidents who have served the country. Throughout the country, organizations and communities celebrate the day with public ceremonies.

Marlo Anderson celebrated all the Presidents' pets, which reminded me that Hoover Harding Cleveland is in fairly sparse company. As Wikipedia notes, "Only James K. Polk, Andrew Johnson, and Donald Trump did not have any presidential pets while in office" — something else Hoover Harding Cleveland has in common with Andrew Johnson besides having a majority of Senators vote to convict him after being impeached!

That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for more holidays, as tomorrow is a triple celebration of Lunar New Year, Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday, and a solar eclipse on Tuesday.

'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning' leads Best Action/Adventure Film at the Saturn Awards

I closed The History Guy remembers Charles Darwin and chocolate for Valentines Day by telling my readers, "Stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment feature with the nominees for Best Action/Adventure Film at the Saturn Awards — Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning vs. One Battle After Another!" Here are the nominees in this category.

Best Action / Adventure Film:

Ballerina
F1: The Movie
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Novocaine
Now You See Me, Now You Don’t
One Battle After Another

As the preview image states, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning earned seven nominations. The rest of the field earned just this one, so Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the favorite.

Before I reveal my vote, I'm re-examining what I wrote in Drink to the action movie nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards on National Piña Colada Day.

Like Best Horror Film, there are plenty of nominees for action/adventure and thriller film at the upcoming Saturn Awards among the movies nominated here, although I have to include all the acting nominees to say so. Joining Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and Warfare from the movie category would be Carry-On, Novocaine, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, and Gladiator II from the acting categories.* That's a full slate for one category right there. Box Office Mojo's top grossing films of 2024 adds in one other possible nominee, September 5 — Red One is also an action movie, but I think it's more likely to be nominated as fantasy — while Box Office Mojo's top movies of 2025 adds F1: The Movie, The Accountant 2, Karate Kid: Legends, The Amateur, A Working Man, Den of Thieves: Pantera, Flight Risk, Black Bag, Last Breath, Babygirl, and The Phoenician Scheme in the top 50. There are 150 movies with lower box office totals that I didn't even look at! Furthermore, Box Office Mojo's Calendar lists Sovereign, She Rides Shotgun, and The Naked Gun upcoming between now and August 10th. While they are likely to be split among three categories, action/adventure, thriller, and independent film, there are still enough to fill all three and then some. There is no need to sacrifice the superhero film category to add Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World to Best Action Film!

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Novocaine, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, and F1: The Movie all made the cut, while Warfare, Carry-On, Gladiator II, and the rest didn't. That's because this year's Saturn Awards ignored releases from the final months of 2024, so no Carry-On or Gladiator II, and Now You See Me, Now You Don’t and One Battle After Another were better movies than Warfare, either as entertainment or as art. For the first time in this series, I'm quoting my standard rant about the Saturn Awards — "the Saturn Awards are about entertainment not art, they don't care for subtle, and they love to stick it to the experts." That's why I'm sure Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning will win this category. It's great, spectatcular entertainment, but it has no Oscar nominations; its most prestigious award so far is a Critics Choice Award for Best Stunt Design. The Motion Picture Academy instituting a casting award before a stunt award hurt its awards chances.

On the other hand, One Battle After Another earned 13 Oscar nominations. Gold Derby thinks its on track to win Best Motion Picture, Best Supporting Actress for Teyana Taylor, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Editing. As my default position is to go with the expert/professional opinion when I vote in the Saturn Awards unless I have good reason to vote otherwise, I voted for One Battle After Another, even though I expect it to lose to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. At least the Critics Choice Association and the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Film will agree on the best action film, which would be a validation of expert opinion, not a rejection of it.

That's a wrap for today's installment. I plan on resuming the series Wednesday with the nominees for Best Independent Film. In the meantime, I have the sequel to 'Weathered' explains 'This Is EXACTLY How Much Poorer Climate Change Will Make Every Person on Earth', last year's most read entry (ETA — actually PBS Terra explains 'This Is How the World Ends According to Science') — scheduled for tomorrow and a triple celebration of Lunar New Year, Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday, and a solar eclipse on Tuesday. Stay tuned.

Previous posts about the 53rd Saturn Awards

• 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' leads Best Science Fiction Film nominees at the Saturn Awards
• 'Sinners' leads Best Thriller Film nominees at the Saturn Awards
• 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' vs. 'Superman' for Best Cinematic Adaptation Film at the Saturn Awards
• 'Wicked: For Good' leads Best Fantasy Film at the Saturn Awards
• 'Frankenstein' leads Best Horror Film at the Saturn Awards for Friday the 13th

The History Guy remembers Charles Darwin and chocolate for Valentines Day

A late happy Darwin Day on Valentines Day — two holidays at once! I begin today's double celebration with The History Guy remembering Almost Not History: Darwin and HMS Beagle.

February 12 represents the 214th birthday of Charles Darwin, a scientist whose ideas transformed human understanding of the natural world, and undoubtedly one of the most influential scientists in history. But that history may have been different, as Da[rw]in’s career altering voyage aboard HMS Beagle almost didn’t happen.

First, The History Guy uploaded this video three years ago, so last Thursday was Darwin's 217th birthday. Second, I had no idea Robert Fitzroy, captain of the Beagle, was himself an accomplished scientist. Third, I knew that Fitzroy wanted a gentleman scientist companion, but I didn't know Darwin was essentially his third choice; I certainly didn't know the names of the two men who could have gone in Darwin's place. Still, Darwin turned out to be the best person available. Fourth, the video reminded me that Darwin was the grandson of Josiah Wedgwood, the founder of Wedgwood & Sons; I had heard that before, but couldn't have remembered that off the top of my head. I think I'd heard, but had forgotten, that his uncle Josiah II had finally allowed him to go. While not mentioned in the video, I did know that he married his first cousin, Emma Wedgwood, daughter of Josiah II. Talk about a close family!

By the way, I recall being a member of the Paleontological Research Institute back in the late 1980s. I've long since let my membership lapse, along with the rest of my professional association memberships. I've been concentrating on teaching instead of research the past 30 years and didn't have the time, and sometimes the money, for meetings and membership dues.

The History Guy has several videos about Valentines Day. Today's is Chocolate: A History.

From The History Guy archive for Valentine's Day, a brief history of the food of the Gods.

That was fascinating, from cacao's prehistory in Mesoamerica to today, including mentions of almost all of today's big names in chocolate, including Cadbury, Lindt, Nestle, Hershey, Reese, and Mars — sorry, no Godiva. I learned a lot from both videos, making today a good day. The second video also made me hungry. Lunchtime!

That's a wrap for today's educational holiday post. Stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment feature with the nominees for Best Action/Adventure Film at the Saturn Awards — Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning vs. One Battle After Another!

'Frankenstein' leads Best Horror Film at the Saturn Awards for Friday the 13th

I closed Randy Rainbow sings 'Lyin' and Spinnin' (and Cheatin' and Hidin')' by telling my readers to "Stay tuned as I plan on examining horror movie nominees for Friday the 13th. Frankenstein!" Time to recycle the relevant sentence from Deadline Hollywood: "Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein followed with 11 noms..." followed by an examination of its competitors.

Best Horror Film:

28 Years Later
The Conjuring: Last Rites
Final Destination: Bloodlines
Frankenstein
The Monkey
Weapons

In addition to Frankenstein's eleven nominations, Weapons has five, 28 Years Later has two, and The Conjuring: Last Rites, Final Destination: Bloodlines, and The Monkey have just this one. Weapons is obviously Frankenstein's competition and I wouldn't be surprised if it wins, but I voted for Frankenstein for Best Horror Film. I also voted for Jacob Elordi as Best Supporting Actor in a Film and Frankenstein for Best Film Make Up. While I voted for Wicked: For Good in Best Production Design, Best Film Costume, and Best Supporting Actress in a Film, it could easily lose to Frankenstein in the first two categories and Weapons in the third.

By the way, I found out the answer to a question I posed most recently in Science fiction movie nominees at the Critics Choice Awards for Science Fiction Day.

Speaking of Saturn Awards and what they consider science fiction, I wrote the following two years ago.

That Frankenstein is considered to be the first work of science fiction means that horror is its sister genre, not fantasy, as the movie and television versions of Frankenstein are portrayed as horror. This reminds me of what I wrote most recently about M3GAN and Prey at the Saturn Awards; "if the terror is technological, not supernatural, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films considers it science fiction, not horror." Now I wonder how the Saturn Awards would classify a new movie or TV show about Frankenstein. Hmm.

We'll find out soon, unless they dodge the issue by nominating it for Best Presentation on Television. They did something like that for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, nominating it for Best Animated Television Series or Special instead of Best Animated Film, so I wouldn't be surprised.

The Saturn Awards decided Frankenstein is horror. The tradition begun during the Golden Age of Movie Monsters continues!

I close this post with Alexandre Desplat Performs the Music of Frankenstein Live | Netflix to recognize its nomination for Best Film Music.

Composer Alexandre Desplat performs the Frankenstein score live at the Frankenstein Exhibit Space in Los Angeles.
...
Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro reimagines Mary Shelley's classic tale of a brilliant scientist and the creature his monstrous ambition brings to life.

I think I first found a video like this for Chef's Table, which I embedded in '100 Foot Wave' leads Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series in nominations, but could lose to 'SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night'. It worked; Chef's Table won Music Composition For A Documentary Series Or Special (Original Dramatic Score). I don't know if it will work for Frankenstein either here or at the Oscars, where Gold Derby has it last in its odds, but I appreciate the performance just the same.

That's a wrap for today's post. I plan on continuing this series for the Sunday entertainment feature with the nominees for Best Action/Adventure Film. That's after a double celebration tomorrow, a late celebration of Darwin Day on Valentines Day. Two holidays at once!

Previous posts about the 53rd Saturn Awards

• 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' leads Best Science Fiction Film nominees at the Saturn Awards
• 'Sinners' leads Best Thriller Film nominees at the Saturn Awards
• 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' vs. 'Superman' for Best Cinematic Adaptation Film at the Saturn Awards
• 'Wicked: For Good' leads Best Fantasy Film at the Saturn Awards

Randy Rainbow sings 'Lyin' and Spinnin' (and Cheatin' and Hidin')'

I told my readers to "stay tuned for Randy Rainbow's latest to[day]. Laugh at the news so we don't cry." Watch and list to Lyin' and Spinnin' (and Cheatin' and Hidin') - A Randy Rainbow Song Parody.

Parody of “Wishin’ and Hopin’” by Burt Bacharach and Hal David

Parody Lyrics by Randy Rainbow
Song Produced, Orchestrated, Mixed, Mastered by: Michael J Moritz Jr

It has been almost two months since Randy Rainbow sings 'It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like F This' and it was worth the wait. Bravo, Randy!

That takes nothing away from the Marsh Family, who filled for Randy during his holiday break. They have a new song, "Peter Mandelson" - Marsh Family parody of "Mrs Robinson" by Simon & Garfunkel on Epstein Files.

Here’s a weeknight speedy turnaround musical parody (missing Tess and Alfie cos unavailable) on the UK fallout linked to the Epstein files, and specifically the former US Ambassador and British Lord, Peter Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein, and the bigger implications of his omissions and appointment rippling through Westminster. Naturally we picked a song from a movie about proteges, covert relationships, virtues and vices, which is another toe-tapping Paul Simon favourite, “Mrs Robinson” – recorded with Art Garfunkel in 1968. The song became the duo’s second number one, and the first rock song to win the Grammy award for Record of the Year. Apparently when the melody was first written there was no name in it, so it could be suited to any three syllable name – which helps explain why Mandelson seemed to fit so well.
...
A “SPAD” is a special adviser to UK politicians (usually a high-level civil servant) – and two resigned in the last day or so who were central to Starmer’s government operation.

The British government seems to be facing consequences faster than the American government. I wonder why that is?

That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned as I plan on examining horror movie nominees for Friday the 13th. Frankenstein!

'Wicked: For Good' leads Best Fantasy Film at the Saturn Awards

Yesterday, I asked, "Wicked Wednesday, anyone?" On that note, I'm repeating the key clause from Deadline Hollywood, "Wicked: For Good picked up nine [nominations]," then looking at its competition.

Best Fantasy Film:

Freakier Friday
Hamnet
How to Train Your Dragon
The Life of Chuck
Lilo & Stitch
Wicked: For Good

Following Wicked: For Good's nine nominations are How to Train Your Dragon with three nominations, The Life of Chuck and Lilo & Stitch tied at two, then Freakier Friday and Hamnet with just this one. Based on the number of nominations, Wicked: For Good is the favorite. If I were stricter about voting for the "professional" choice, I'd have voted for Oscar nominee for Best Picture Hamnet, which qualifies for this category because of its magical realism elements. Instead, I voted for Wicked: For Good because I really wanted to vote for Wicked, but the Saturn Awards ignored the films that were released during the last two months of 2024, so I transferred my votes for Wicked to its sequel. Besides, I think it's going to win anyway. Since the Oscars completely snubbed Wicked: For Good, these count as double protest votes.

Speaking of transferring votes, Wicked won the equivalent Oscars for Best Film Costume Design and Best Film Production Design, so I voted for the sequel in those categories. I also voted for Ariana Grande in Best Supporting Actress in a Film, a total of four. Add in my vote for the original Wicked in Best 4K Home Media Release and that's five votes for the franchise, second only to my seven votes for Sinners.

Today's music selection to recognize Wicked: For Good's nomination for Best Film Music is Wicked: For Good The Soundtrack - The Girl In The Bubble (Official Lyric Video), the one song from the movie nominated at both the Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes.

The official lyric video for "The Girl In The Bubble" from 'Wicked: For Good - The Soundtrack'.

That's a really pretty song, and one that probably should have earned an Oscar nomination. I'd have to listen to the nominees to figure out which one it should have bumped, but I'm sure it's better than at least one of them!

That's a wrap for today. I plan on examining horror movie nominees for Friday the 13th. Frankenstein! In the meantime, stay tuned for Randy Rainbow's latest tomorrow. Laugh at the news so we don't cry.

Previous posts about the 53rd Saturn Awards

• 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' leads Best Science Fiction Film nominees at the Saturn Awards
• 'Sinners' leads Best Thriller Film nominees at the Saturn Awards
• 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' vs. 'Superman' for Best Cinematic Adaptation Film at the Saturn Awards

Vox explains 'The House of Representatives is too small. Here is one way to fix it.'

For today's "brief evergreen educational entry worth sharing next month," I'm sharing Vox explaining The House of Representatives is too small. Here is one way to fix it.

For more than a century, the size of the House of Representatives has been frozen at 435 seats; in that same period, the US population has tripled. This means that today, the average representative is responsible for more than 750,000 constituents. Scholars and politicians say this imbalance is why many Americans feel like Congress is disconnected from them.

So what if we…added more seats? That’s what Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) is proposing in a new bill because he believes it’s closer to what the country’s founders originally envisioned. While expanding Congress could make our ratio of voters to representatives smaller, it also raises a difficult question: Can a larger, more crowded legislature actually govern, or are we just adding more voices to the gridlock? Vox dives into the math, the history, and the potential future of a "bigger" American democracy.

I find all three formulas converging on one district for every 500,000 people encouraging. It tells me that my support for the "Wyoming Plan," which has the population of every district being the size of the smallest population state, is well founded. It's also why I'm not terribly eager to add the U.S. Virgin Islands; their population would make the Wyoming Plan unwieldy, if not downright impracticable. Fortunately, the last referendum overwhelmingly supported territory status. It's also why I would be ambivalent about adding Prince Edward Island as the 62nd state, proposing it join Nova Scotia or New Brunswick first. Yeah, like that will ever happen. However, making the population of a district 500,000 and not that of the lowest population state would remove those reservations.

Vox advocating for multi-member districts and proportional representation is very on-brand for it. It's been doing so since Vox explains how proportional representation can solve gerrymandering and help minor parties in 2017 and again in Vox explains 'Why US elections only give you two choices' in 2024. I'm glad they're consistent on this issue; it will take repetition to get the idea to stick.

That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for more Saturn Awards coverage tomorrow. Wicked Wednesday, anyone?

'Fantastic Four: First Steps' vs. 'Superman' for Best Cinematic Adaptation Film at the Saturn Awards

As I promised twice, I'm returning to Saturn Awards coverage today. There's no better way to begin than by recycling the relevant paragraph from Deadline Hollywood.

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, which snagged a record 16 Oscar nominations last week, landed 12 Saturn nominations, as did Avatar: Fire and Ash and Fantastic Four: First Steps. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein followed with 11 noms, while Wicked: For Good picked up nine and Superman had eight.

Having examined Avatar: Fire and Ash and Sinners, it's time for me to feature Fantastic Four: First Steps, which leads Best Cinematic Adaptation Film, the successor to Best Superhero Film.

Best Cinematic Adaptation Film:

Black Phone 2
Captain America: Brave New World
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
A Minecraft Movie
Superman
Thunderbolts

In addition to Fantastic Four: First Steps leading with twelve nominations and Superman with eight, Thunderbolts* AKA Thunderbolts: The New Avengers has three, Black Phone 2 has two, and Captain America: Brave New World and A Minecraft Movie have just this one. Based on the number of nominations plus the Disney Marvel Cinematic Universe movies having a track record of winning the Best Superhero Film category, I think Fantastic Four: First Steps is favored. I didn't vote for it; I voted for Superman instead. It beat all other superhero films in the domestic and worldwide box office. Besides, I'm more of a DC fan than a Marvel fan and I've voted accordingly when DC films are good enough.

Speaking of box office, the leader in this category is A Minecraft Movie, about which I wrote, "The critics must have disliked it for being dumb fun, but it's the kind of movie the People's Choice Awards would love and the Saturn Awards would nominate just to stick it to the experts." I'm glad to see it nominated, especially in this category. It won't win — it is on WatchMojo worst movies of 2025 list — but it deserved this recognition.

The nominee that most surprised me was Black Phone 2. I had to dig through Wikipedia to find out it's an adaptation of "The Black Phone," a story in 20th Century Ghosts. I learned something new, which makes today a good day.

Next, the other category I haven't covered yet that both Fantastic Four: First Steps and Thunderbolts* earned nominations in.

Best 4K Home Media Release:

Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning (Paramount)
Nightmare Alley (Criterion)
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Disney/Marvel)
Thunderbolts(Disney/Marvel)
When Evil Lurks (Second Sight Films)
Wicked (Universal)

I wouldn't be surprised if The Fantastic Four: First Steps wins this category, too, but it was my one chance to vote for Wicked instead of Wicked: For Good, so I took it.

I close with The Fantastic Four: First Steps Main Theme Extended Version (From "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" to recognize the movie's nomination for Best Film Music.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) as they face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal. The action-adventure also stars Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Sarah Niles and Mark Gatiss. Directed by Matt Shakman, produced by Kevin Feige, p.g.a., and executive produced by Louis D’Esposito, Grant Curtis, Tim Lewis and Robert Kulzer, Marvel Studios’ “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” opens in theaters July 25, 2025.

Music video by Michael Giacchino performing The Fantastic Four: First Steps Main Theme Extended Version (From "The Fantastic Four: First Steps"/Audio Only).© 2025 Marvel Music, Inc.

I voted for Sinners, but I wouldn't be surprised if this upsets it.

I plan on resuming this series on Wednesday. In the meantime, stay tuned for a brief evergreen educational entry worth sharing next month.

Previous posts about the 53rd Saturn Awards

• 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' leads Best Science Fiction Film nominees at the Saturn Awards
• 'Sinners' leads Best Thriller Film nominees at the Saturn Awards

BBC News asks 'Why is Bad Bunny's Super Bowl show so controversial?'

I promised "a special Sunday entertainment feature about the Super Bowl" today, so I'm returning to 'The Daily Show' on Trump talking about canceling elections plus Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl and GRAMMYs to take a serious look after a comedic one by sharing BBC News asking Why is Bad Bunny's Super Bowl show so controversial? | The Global Story.

On Sunday 8 February, Bad Bunny will perform at the Super Bowl half-time show to an audience of more than 100 million people across the world.

But the NFL’s choice of the Puerto Rican star has proven controversial, because he has long been outspoken in his criticism of Donald Trump's government, including most recently at the 2026 Grammy Awards, when he called for ICE agents to be removed from the streets.

Puerto Rican cultural critic Carina del Valle Schorske, who profiled Bad Bunny for The New York Times Magazine, speaks to Asma Khalid and Tristan Redman.

She explains how the artist’s pride in his homeland is infused throughout his music, and considers how he might use the United States' biggest stage this weekend to challenge the president’s policies.

I expected Bad Bunny's story to be intimately tied to the recent history of Puerto Rico. I was surprised, but shouldn't have been, that Hurricane Maria and its aftermath played such a big part in it. It didn't help that Donald "Hoover Harding Cleveland" Trump wanted to trade Puerto Rico for Greenland so that he wouldn't have to deal with the cleanup. His obsession with Greenland has not aged well.

On the other hand, I expect Bad Bunny's halftime show will join Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, and others by being nominated and winning Emmy Awards. As I wrote two years ago:

Did you know that when you watch (or watched, depending on when you read this entry) today's Super Bowl, you'll probably see several Emmy nominees and probably an Emmy winner or two? You will, because you did last year and several of the years before that. That's thanks to the commercials and halftime show, which has been a repeat nominee going back as far as Beyoncé's Super Bowl XLVII halftime show, which won Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special in 2013.

We'll find out about the nominations in July and the Emmy Awards in September. In the meantime, stay tuned for coverage of Best Cinematic Adaptation Film, the successor to Best Superhero Film at the Saturn Awards, tomorrow.

'Sinners' leads Best Thriller Film nominees at the Saturn Awards

Yesterday, I asked "I'm planning on continuing my awards show coverage tomorrow as I resume examining the Saturn Awards. Sinners, anyone?" Deadline Hollywood's paragraphs I quoted in 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' leads Best Science Fiction Film nominees at the Saturn Awards are as good as any to resume the series.

Warner Bros’ record-setting Oscar nomination juggernaut Sinners, James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash and Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps lead all film nominees for the 53rd Saturn Awards, which recognize the year’s best movies, TV programs and home video releases in the fantasy, science fiction, horror, superhero and action-adventure genres.
...
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, which snagged a record 16 Oscar nominations last week, landed 12 Saturn nominations, as did Avatar: Fire and Ash and Fantastic Four: First Steps. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein followed with 11 noms, while Wicked: For Good picked up nine and Superman had eight.

Here is the relevant film genre nomination.

Best Thriller Film:

Highest 2 Lowest
The Housemaid
The Long Walk
Marty Supreme
Sinners
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

As Deadline reported, Sinners earned twelve nominations at these awards, including Best Film Direction (Ryan Coogler), Best Actor in a Film (Michael B. Jordan), Best Supporting Actor in a Film (Delroy Lindo), Best Supporting Actress in a Film (Hailee Steinfeld), Best Young Actor in a Film (Miles Caton), Best Screenwriting, Best Film Music (Ludwig Göransson), Best Production Design, Best Makeup, Best Film Editing, and Best Costume Design in addition to Best Thriller Film. The rest of the nominees have just the one nomination for Best Thriller Film, so I doubt any of them will beat Sinners.

I was planning to vote for Sinners as Best Horror Film, but here it is in the thriller category. I've already voted for it here. I also voted for Michael B. Jordan as Best Actor in a Film, Ryan Coogler for both Best Film Direction and Best Film Screenwriting, Best Film Editing, Ludwig Göransson for Best Film Music, and Miles Caton for Best Younger Performer in a Film, a total of seven votes, the most of any film I voted for.

Since I voted for Ludwig Göransson in Best Film Music, I'm being a good environmentalist by recycling from 'Sinners,' 'KPop Demon Hunters,' and 'Wicked' — movie musicals at the GRAMMYs, Why You Here / Before the Sun Went Down | Sinners (Original Motion Picture Score).

“Why You Here / Before the Sun Went Down” from Sinners (Original Motion Picture Score) | Music by Ludwig Göransson

That's a wrap for today's entry. I plan on resuming the series Monday with coverage of Best Cinematic Adaptation Film, the successor to Best Superhero Film, which wasn't presented last year. Looks like the Saturn Awards followed the lead of the Critics Choice Super Awards by including video game adaptation movies and renaming the category. That will be after a special Sunday entertainment feature about the Super Bowl. Stay tuned.

Previous posts about the 53rd Saturn Awards

• 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' leads Best Science Fiction Film nominees at the Saturn Awards