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.
Chris Krebs, a lifelong Republican, was put in charge of the agency handling election security by President Trump two years ago. When Krebs said the 2020 election was the country's most secure ever, Mr. Trump fired him. Now, Krebs speaks to Scott Pelley.
I'll let three commenters on the video speak for me. First, Margit Hammer wrote "This guy gets an A+ for professionalism. He never once spoke badly of Trump, even though he had every reason and opportunity to." I second that emotion. Next, Sarah Cahoot wrote "This man did his job and did it very well. And Trump doesn’t like anyone who does their job." Well, at least anyone who does their job as written, not as Donald Trump believes it should be, which is to support his goals, including making him look good. Speaking of which, I conclude quoting comments with this one by Bryan: "Protect the Constitution not the corrupt president. Good job sir." Good job, indeed!
Follow over the jump for video clips showing how Krebs' story developed over the past month.
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, Gunda, and Mr. SOUL! lead this year’s nominations with five each.
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution is nominated for Best Documentary Feature, James Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham for Best Director, Best Editing, Best Archival Documentary, and Best Historical/Biography Documentary. The film also received an honor for Judith Heumann for Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary.
I had high hopes for "Crip Camp," as I wrote in a comment on John Michael Greer's Dreamwidth that "'Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution' is my personal favorite among Best Documentary Feature nominees..." It ended up winning no awards beyond Judith Heumann for Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary, which I found a bit disappointing. It could be worse; "Gunda" ended up with nothing at all. At least "Mr. SOUL!" won Best First Documentary Feature, so it didn't go away empty handed.
To see the trailer for "Crip Camp" along with more clips from the movie and an interview with the directors, watch the Factual America episode Crip Camp: Cradle of the Disability Rights Movement from Alamo Pictures.
Crip Camp was a unique summer camp for disabled teens that had an incredible impact on their lives.
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In the 1970s Camp Jened was not just any old summer camp in the Catskills. Hippy values, the Grateful Dead, and pot-smoking shaped this utopia for teens with disabilities. Before long, a generation of a summer camp for kids with disabilities became a social movement that soon changed the world. We welcome Jim Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham, co-directors of the Netflix documentary Crip Camp, to the podcast. Jim and Nicole share their experiences making a documentary about one of the most compelling, previously untold stories of our time. In the process, we find out what it is like to work with executive producers Barack and Michelle Obama. Jim and Nicole also discuss the next items on the agenda in terms of disability rights.
“I had no mental model for imagining disability communities, and I didn’t have any mental model for thinking about wild, horny teenagers listening to Bob Dylan at a summer camp. It was just joyous.” - Nicole Newnham
This is a very political movie because it's about activists, so I'm surprised it wasn't nominated for Best Political Documentary, won by "Boys State." I plan on remedying that in my own way by shortlisting it for this year's Golden Coffee Cups for movies based on its nominations here. As for future nominations, I'm sure it will get them at the Cinema Eye Honors, various craft awards, the Independent Lens Awards, and the Emmy Awards, whether Creative Arts or News and Documentary. I'm not sure about it getting one of the five nominations for Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards for the reasons I mentioned in the comment at Greer's Dreamwidth regarding "Feels Good Man."
I would be very pleasantly surprised if it earns one of the five nominations for Documentary Feature at the Oscars. That will depend very much on the mood of the Documentary Branch of the Motion Picture Academy. They deliberately do not nominate documentaries that will earn votes from the entire academy as a whole that they don't agree is the very best. They also don't like documentaries made with archive footage. They also have political axes to grind.
"Crip Camp" might fall in the first category and definitely falls under the second. The third might work for or against it. After all, Barack and Michelle Obama produced it and their production company winning another Oscar in addition to the one for "American Factory" would send a message. I don't know if that would run afoul of another issue with the Motion Picture Academy's Documentary Branch: "The Documentary Branch normally does not [nominate] films by previous winners." So long as that applies to directors, not producers, it shouldn't stand in the way of "Crip Camp" earning a nomination. Neither Lebrecht nor Newnham have even been nominated for an Oscar, although Newnham has earned a News and Documentary Emmy Award for "Collisions." I wish them both good luck with this film.
They will need it to overcome the popular sentiment behind "My Octopus Teacher," should it be nominated. My entry about it went viral through other people sharing it on Facebook. Right now, it has 93 Facebook shares and 552 default and 557 raw page views. In addition, all the comments I've seen and received about "My Octopus Teacher" have been overwhelmingly positive in a way I almost never see. If both of those accurately reflect how the general public feel about the movie, then I think it will be a strong contender if it's nominated for an Oscar. Whether it will is another matter. As I indicated above, the Documentary Branch has issues!
That's it for the Sunday entertainment feature. Stay tuned for the final entry of the month. Should I follow tradition, it will be about Cyber Monday.
Due to the coronavirus epidemic, small businesses are struggling to keep their lights on — and Yelp says 60% of businesses that shut down during COVID-19 will remain permanently closed. As NBC’s Catie Beck reports for Weekend TODAY, Small Business Saturday could be the lifeline local shops and restaurants need to stay afloat.
NBC News senior business correspondent Stephanie Ruhle joins Weekend TODAY with tips to shop on Small Business Saturday and support local businesses. One thing she suggests is buying gift cards for places like restaurants and yoga centers to be used later.
Stephanie Ruhle is right about the importance of small local businesses. When the current crisis is over, we will want them to be there when we need them.
That's the national story. Follow over the jump for the local one from WXYZ. I may have a national readership, but this is still a Metro Detroit-based blog.
Has JCPenney been saved? In this week's episode of Retail Archaeology we take a look at a closing JCPenney at the El Con Center (formerly the El Con Mall) in Tucson, AZ. The El Con Mall is a long dead mall and this JCPenney location is the last part of it that still exists.
A U.S. judge approved a deal that will allow J.C. Penney to emerge from bankruptcy before the upcoming holiday season. The rescue deal is expected to save approximately 60,000 jobs[.]
That's good news, although I share Erik's concerns about whether the mall owners will do the same for other department store chains and if deals like this will make malls and department stores sink together. Only time will tell.
Retail analyst Anthony Chukumba says malls will have to learn to adapt or suffer permanent closures. With the convenience of Amazon, Etsy, and online shopping, mall owners are being forced to get creative. Frank Holland joins Shep Smith to discuss the struggles that face American malls.
When I did the math, 1000 malls minus 25% is 750 malls. That means that the number of malls in the U.S. will be half of the 1,500 in 2012 by 2025. Wow! Looks like I will be busy writing about the retail apocalypse for years to come.
That's it for this year's Black Friday/Buy Nothing Day. Stay tuned for Small BusinessSaturday.
As Thanksgiving approaches, coronavirus cases across America are skyrocketing–because pandemics don't take holidays off! In order to keep our families safe, it’s time to start thinking about giving them the gift of “staying home” this holiday season. This is pt. 1 of 2.
My comment on the vaccine news is the same as it was for the past two pandemic updates, "I see a second light down the tunnel that isn't an oncoming train. Unfortunately, the first light definitely is a locomotive bearing down on us. We have to do our best to dodge it until the vaccines become available in the spring."
The holidays are upon us and correspondent Allana Harkin wants to make sure that the only thing you’ll be giving your family this year is thanks, not COVID.
Thank you, Sam and Allana! Happy Thanksgiving to you and stay safe!
*I make the distinction because I also celebrate CanadianThanksgiving. Besides, Bee is originally Canadian, so I think it's appropriate. Speaking of which, the cartoon is from the Toronto Star. More Canadian content!
A filmmaker forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world.
That's a beautifully photographed and moving tease of the movie, which shows why it won two awards and was nominated for two more. To watch the acceptance of its first award, watch BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY - My Octopus Teacher.
Winner of the 5th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Science/Nature Documentary: MY OCTOPUS TEACHER.
That's Pippa Ehrlich, the film's director, accepting the award, and that looks like one of the flanks of Table Mountain above Cape Town, South Africa, behind her. We'll see more of Ehrlich later in this post. In the meantime, watch BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - Roger Horrocks, My Octopus Teacher for the acceptance of the other award.
Winner of the 5th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Cinematography: Roger Horrocks, MY OCTOPUS TEACHER.
In addition to winning these two awards, "My Octopus Teacher" earned nominations for Best Documentary and Best Narration. That's more than either "David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet" or "I Am Greta" did, so I expect great things for this documentary at the various craft awards, Environmental Media Association Awards, Creative Arts Emmy Awards, and News and Documentary Emmy Awards. Honestly, I would be happy with any field of nominees at any of these awards that includes all three.
Congratulations to Netflix, Ehrlich, Horrocks, and Craig Foster for these wins and nominations!
I'm taking a break from the Critics' Choice Awards for American Thanksgiving at least. I might return with one more winner after that, "Crip Camp." Stay tuned and an early happy American Thanksgiving to my readers!
Winner of the 5th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Narration: DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: A LIFE ON OUR PLANET.
It's too bad Sir David couldn't accept the award himself, but it sets him up well for next year's Emmy Awards, where "A Life on our Planet" should be eligible. If he wins, he can add that Emmy to the ones for "Blue Planet II," "Our Planet," and "Seven Worlds, One Planet." I also think the documentary itself will be a strong contender at next year's Environmental Media Association Awards for documentary film.
Join us as we discuss the new Netflix Documentary, David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet.
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Sir David Attenborough is a broadcast legend. And probably no individual has seen more of the Earth's wilderness in his illustrious nearly 70-year career. That makes him the perfect witness to the devastating changes afflicting our planet.
In David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet (2020), which premiered on Netflix, co-director Keith Scholey of Silverback Films and producer Colin Butfield of the World Wildlife Fund bring us Sir David's witness statement. In the process, they also provide us with simple solutions to saving our planet before it is too late.
"The things that are happening to this world are unnecessary. Not getting out of the problem is unnecessary. So make sure that your voice is heard, so that we solve it." - Keith Scholey
Follow over the jump to read about "I Am Greta" and "Jane Goodall: The Hope." The subject of the first was named Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary and the second was nominated for Best First Documentary.
From the Academy Award-winning producer of FREE SOLO and based on the #1 NY Times Best-Seller by Pete Souza, Chief White House Photographer for Barack Obama, @The Way I See It is in theaters September 18th.
Based on the New York Times #1 bestseller comes The Way I See It, an unprecedented look behind the scenes of two of the most iconic Presidents in American History, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, as seen through the eyes of renowned photographer Pete Souza. As Official White House Photographer, Souza was an eyewitness to the unique and tremendous responsibilities of being the most powerful person on Earth. The movie reveals how Souza transforms from a respected photojournalist to a searing commentator on the issues we face as a country and a people.
People often say "I wish I were a fly on the wall" when something happened behind closed doors. Pete Souza was that fly on the wall during both the Reagan and Obama administrations, so he knew and he has a valuable perspective that I'm glad this documentary shared.
Winner of the 5th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Score: Marco Beltrami, Brandon Roberts and Buck Sanders, THE WAY I SEE IT.
Congratulations to Marco Beltrami, Brandon Roberts and Buck Sanders for winning Best Score and to Pete Souza for being honored with Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary. Also, congratulations to director Dawn Porter and her producers, including Evan Hayes, the producer of "Free Solo," and Laura Dern, on earning one of the nominations for Best Political Documentary. I expect they will see more nominations, particularly at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards, as this was shown in MSNBC last month and is streaming on Peacock in addition to being shown in theaters. Good luck, you deserve it!
After examining the COVID-19 pandemic in yesterday's entry about "Totally Under Control, it's time to return to winners about the ongoing civil rights struggle in the U.S., which was the theme of "John Lewis:Good Trouble," the winner of Best Historical/Biographical Documentary at the 2020 Critics' Choice Documentary Awards. Since today is Sunday, the day I usually post an entertainment feature, I'm going to make up for posting about Saturday Night Live and America Recycles Day on Sundays this month by showcasing three winners at the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards sharing a common theme, "MLK/FBI," "St. Louis Superman," and "Mr. SOUL!"*
Winner of the 5th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Archival Documentary: MLK/FBI.
Congratulations to Sam Pollard, Ben Hedin, Brian Becker, and Laura Tomaselli for this award and for the film's nomination for Best Political Documentary, where it competed against fellow winners "Totally Under Control," "John Lewis: Good Trouble," "Boys State," and "The Way I See It," which won Best Score, as well as nominees "All In: The Fight for Democracy" and "The Social Dilemma."
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered today as an American hero: a bridge-builder, a shrewd political tactician, and a moral leader. Yet throughout his history-altering political career, he was often treated by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies like an enemy of the state. In this virtuosic documentary, award-winning editor and director Sam Pollard (Editor, 4 LITTLE GIRLS, MO’ BETTER BLUES; Director/Producer, EYEZ ON THE PRIZE, SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I’VE GOTTA BE ME) lays out a detailed account of the FBI surveillance that dogged King’s activism throughout the ’50s and ’60s, fueled by the racist and red-baiting paranoia of J. Edgar Hoover. In crafting a rich archival tapestry, featuring some revelatory restored footage of King, Pollard urges us to remember that true American progress is always hard-won.
I've heard all this before, but I think it helps to have it all compiled in one place along with updated information. I'm not sure about the documentary's award prospects beyond a likely Cinema Eye Honors nomination. While it has been played at quite a few film fesivals, its official release date is January 15, 2021, so I'm not sure if it will qualify for the Academy Awards. I also don't know if it's going to streaming by the end of the 2020-2021 television season, which would make it eligible for a Creative Arts Emmy Award next September. Maybe if it shows on Independent Lens by the end of next year it would qualify for a News and Documentary Emmy Award in September or October 2022. Yes, it would take that long.
I wrote the following in my comment on Kek has apparently spoken at John Michael Greer's Dreamwidth.
Three years ago, the Documentary Branch nominated "Icarus," a very anti-Russian sports documentary, in the wake of Trump's victory, and it won. The academy membership didn't have an anti-Trump nominee to vote for, so they jumped on the anti-Putin one. That's why I think that "Totally Under Control" about the administration's response to the pandemic, might actually have a chance at being nominated this year. The Documentary Branch normally does not renominate films by previous winners, which Alex Gibney is, having won for "Taxi to the Dark Side," regardless of merit, as they want to spread the recognition around, but they might just do that this year to signal their anti-Trump sentiment. If they don't nominate "Totally Under Control," they would very likely nominate "John Lewis: Good Trouble" about a critic of Trump instead.
"Totally Under Control" won a Critics' Choice Documentary Award as well, so I will write about it, too.
An in-depth look at how the United States government handled the response to the #COVID19 outbreak during the early months of the pandemic.
On January 20th, 2020 the US and South Korea both discovered their first cases of COVID-19. However, 9 months later, the novel #Coronavirus has claimed the lives of over 200,000 Americans and caused staggering economic damage, while in South Korea, there were no significant lockdowns and, in an urbanized population of 51 million, only 344 lives have been lost. Where did we go wrong? As the presidential election nears, Americans are increasingly enraged by a lack of clear leadership, endemic political corruption and left to wonder how did the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world manage to fail so thoroughly in its response to a global pandemic?
Academy Award-winning filmmaker #AlexGibney, directing with Ophelia Harutyunyan and Suzanne Hillinger, interrogates this question and its devastating implications in Totally Under Control. With damning testimony from public health officials and hard investigative reporting, Gibney exposes a system-wide collapse caused by a profound dereliction of Presidential leadership.
It will be a generation before we know the full extent of the damage wrought by this pandemic, but Totally Under Control will stand as the definitive account of the Trump administration’s incompetence, corruption and denial in the face of this global pandemic.
Winner of the 5th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Editing: Lindy Jankura, Alexis Johnson and Alex Keipper, TOTALLY UNDER CONTROL.
Now I'm wondering who was behind the coronavirus Minnie Mouse. That written, congratulations on winning this award and Dr. Rick Bright being named one of this year's Most Compelling Living Subjects of a Documentary and earning nominations for Best Score, Best Narration, and Best Political Documentary. I think "Totally Under Control" has more nominations and awards coming, even if the Documentary Branch of the Motion Picture Academy has issues that might prevent it from nominating the film for an Oscar. Both the Cinema Eye Honors and Independent Lens are likely to nominate it as a movie. Also, since it was available on Apple TV and is now streaming on Hulu, it should be a lock for one or more Emmy nominations, either at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards or the News and Documentary Emmy Awards. I'm looking forward to them.
I'm not done with this movie. Follow over the jump for two interviews of Gibney and the other directors.
"John Lewis: Good Trouble"...lost to "Boys State" for Best Political Documentary, but won Best Historical/Biographical Documentary. I plan on writing about it tomorrow. Stay tuned.
I had been looking forward to this award since July, when I wrote "I'm looking forward to its nominations at the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards and Academy Awards." The first part came true, as "John Lewis: Good Trouble" earned nominations for Best Director and Best Political Documentary, which I thought it would win, in addition to its award for Best Historical/Biographical Documentary. Watch BEST HISTORICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY - John Lewis: Good Trouble for the acceptance speech.
Winner of the 5th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Historical/Biographical Documentary: JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE.
Congratulations on your movie's first award. May it be the first of many to come!
I was prescient when I wrote "it's already on my shortlist for the Golden Coffee Cups." Because of this win and its other nominations, it officially qualifies according to the criteria I announced in April, being nominated at either or both of the Academy Awards and Critics' Choice Documentary Awards.* It joins "Boys State" and a list of other winners and nominees that have now qualified for the shortlist that I plan on covering over the weekend and early next week. Stay tuned.
*I should probably also add Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US to that list of shortlist-qualifying awards. As for the documentary's chances at the Oscars, I wrote the following in my comment on Kek has apparently spoken at John Michael Greer's Dreamwidth.
Three years ago, the Documentary Branch nominated "Icarus," a very anti-Russian sports documentary, in the wake of Trump's victory, and it won. The academy membership didn't have an anti-Trump nominee to vote for, so they jumped on the anti-Putin one. That's why I think that "Totally Under Control" about the administration's response to the pandemic, might actually have a chance at being nominated this year. The Documentary Branch normally does not renominate films by previous winners, which Alex Gibney is, having won for "Taxi to the Dark Side," regardless of merit, as they want to spread the recognition around, but they might just do that this year to signal their anti-Trump sentiment. If they don't nominate "Totally Under Control," they would very likely nominate "John Lewis: Good Trouble" about a critic of Trump instead.
"Totally Under Control" won a Critics' Choice Documentary Award as well, so I will write about it, too.
I had a particulary documentary in mind when I wrote "I might have an early entertainment feature for the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards..." That was "Boys State," which won Best Political Documentary at the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards on Monday. In addition, Steven Garza, who is featured in the film, earned the honor of Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary. Watch BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY - Boys State for the acceptance of the award.
Winner of the 5th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Political Documentary: BOYS STATE.
Congratulations, even if yours wasn't the nominee I was rooting for!*
To see and hear an in-depth exploration of the movie, I'm sharing Boys State: A Reflection of a Polarised Society, an episode of Factual America from Alamo Pictures that includes the trailer, clips from the film, and an extended interview with the directors.
Learn about Texas Boys State, where teenage boys try their hand at politics.
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Today is a special presidential election edition of Factual America. Americans are heading to the polls. Will they re-elect Donald Trump? Or will they opt for a change and vote for Joe Biden? We can't say either way with any certainty.
What we can say is that America is a polarised society. And whatever the result, the politics of division are here to stay, so it seems. That division and polarisation are captured brilliantly in Boys State, the Sundance Jury Prize Winner from filmmakers Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss.
The Boys State documentary shows what would happen if you put a thousand teenage boys together and put them in charge of the political landscape of America.
Despite the hand-me-down politics of their parents and grandparents, can a bunch of Texas teenage boys provide hope and point the way ahead? We found out when we caught up recently with Amanda and Jesse from their home in California.
“It’s a little bit like the Stanford Prison Experiment, but for the Government.” - Jesse Moss
That was inspiring and illuminating. I also hope that it portends good leadership later this century.
Once again, congratulations to the directors and producers of the documentary...
...and to Steven Garza, one of this year's Most Compelling Living Subjects of a Documentary.
*That would have been "John Lewis: Good Trouble," which lost to "Boys State" for Best Political Documentary, but won Best Historical/Biographical Documentary. I plan on writing about it tomorrow. Stay tuned.
The real election is the ElectoralCollege, which votes on December 14, 2020. That's followed by a joint session of the new Congress on January 6, 2021. Biden's and Harris's legal team will have to keep an eye on that to make sure there are no attempts to send a slate of electors who do not reflect their state's popular vote or defections by faithless electors. The good news is that competing slates of electors have not made a difference since the 1876 election and faithless electors haven't made a difference since 1836 and that was for Vice President, not President. Still, people are trying. When John Oliver told his viewers to expect an election month not just an election night, he was not kidding.
How can faithless electors hand Trump the presidency? Here’s what electors exactly are, how they came about, and the various loopholes that allow for faithless electors to vote against their state’s electorate.
I am not worried about Trump turning Biden electors. I think anyone the state Democratic parties have chosen as electors will vote for Biden, not for Trump. My worry is more about rival slates of electors. That scenario played a part in the 1876 election, which Trevor mentioned in last week's Presidential Concessions - If You Don’t Know, Now You Know.
A formal concession has been an important part of the peaceful transition of power for nearly 125 years, but not every presidential concession has gone smoothly.
I knew the rival slates of electors from southern states caused confusion that could have led to chaos and bloodshed, but I didn't know that the dispute wasn't resolved until two days before the inauguration, which was then on March 4th, not January 20th. A month and a half more of Trump? No thanks! As I wrote the day after the election was called for Biden and repeated yesterday, "I'm looking forward to not having to pay attention to Donald Trump again. I'll just have to wait until January 20, 2021 for that to be completely true." March 4, 2021 would be too long!
*Trevor doing his impression of Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton reminds me that "Hamilton" won two People's Choice Awards, The Drama Movie of 2020 and Lin-Manuel Miranda as The Drama Movie Star of 2020. In addition, "Hamilton" earned three nominations in categories it didn't win, such as The Movie of 2020, won by "Bad Boys for Life," The Male Movie Star of 2020, won by Will Smith for "Bad Boys for Life," and The Soundtrack Song of 2020, won by "Only The Young" by Taylor Swift from "Miss Americana." Congratulations to Miranda and the cast and crew of "Hamilton" on their first major entertainment awards. May they not be the last, as I expect the show will be nominated for many guild awards, possibly a Golden Globe or two, and multiple Emmy Awards. Unfortunately, the Motion Picture Academy ruled it ineligible for any Oscars. That will have to wait for an actual movie adaptation.
A week after Joe Biden’s win in the US presidential election, John Oliver discusses Donald Trump’s various attempts to overturn the results, why his claims don’t hold water, and the consequences of indulging him.
Since Trump inspired Oliver to recycle the subject, I'm going to recycle my reaction.
Trump hasn't progress[ed] very far along the stages of grief, as he keeps bouncing between denial and anger. I would have to look hard for signs of bargaining, although not showing his face in public for several days might be a symptom of depression. Acceptance? Forget it!
In the meantime, "I'm looking forward to not having to pay attention to Donald Trump again. I'll just have to wait until January 20, 2021 for that to be completely true."
After all that, it was time for the Season 7 Finale. I'm looking forward to Oliver blowing up 2020 the way he blew up 2016.
John gets a visit from a special friend, and gives 2020 the farewell it deserves.
“Let tomorrow be about solutions. Today is for vengeance.” I second that emotion and enjoyed it so much that I want to see it again.
As my wife said after watching it, "that was epic!" Yes, it was. Here's to 2021 being better, at least after January 20th.
COVID-19 is surging across the country, with the U.S. recording another one million new confirmed cases in just the past week. As the virus shows no signs of slowing down and the economic toll deepens, President Trump spent Sunday playing golf for the second straight weekend. CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang joined “CBSN AM” with the latest.
Also, 9,000 more Americans have died from the disease during the past week and 250,000 total deaths could happen in few days. Yikes! That's the bad news. CBS News also reported good news, Moderna's coronavirus vaccine shows success in testing.
Moderna says preliminary results show its coronavirus vaccine is over 94% effective. CBS News correspondent Carter Evans reports on the latest developments, and emergency care physician Dr. Ron Elfenbein joined CBSN to discuss progress towards a vaccine and the challenges involved in distributing it to millions of people nationwide.
That's even better than the Pfizer vaccine news I shared last week. I see a second light down the tunnel that isn't an oncoming train. Unfortunately, the first light definitely is a locomotive bearing down on us. We have to do our best to dodge it until the vaccines become available in the spring.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is asking Michiganders to take the recent pandemic order seriously, warning that if we continue at this rate, tens of thousands of people could die by mid-winter.
Impeach Whitmer for these emergency orders? Wow, talk about no good deed goes unpunished! I hope that idea doesn't get past the talking stage. In the meantime, I agree with her statement in response. Go Big Gretch!
HappyAmericaRecyclesDay! For this year's celebration, I'm sharing two videos explaining how recycling works, beginning with SciShow's How Recycling Works. Nothing like showing the science and technology of recycling!
Join SciShow as we explore what happens to your stuff after you toss it into the little green bin with the arrows on it.
All of the animation in this video gives an idealized picture, pun intended, of the science and technology behind how recycled materials are sorted. Now This places those in a larger context when it answers What Happens to Your Recycling After It's Collected?
We followed the recycling process from the bins to the plant to understand where our recycling actually goes – here's what happens to your recycling.
People say misery loves company, but I would rather not have more people share my condition, even if I'm a Type I diabetic, not a Type II. It takes work and discipline to stay alive and healthy to say nothing about money and good insurance. I'm glad I have all of these and I know not everyone does...
That is just as true now as when I wrote it last year.
The International Diabetes Federation is collaborating with ITN Productions Industry News on a news-style programme - "Diabetes Matters” - to raise the profile of diabetes and unite voices in diabetes awareness for World Diabetes Day 2020 and beyond.
The programme will cover key topics including the latest transformative technologies and treatments; advances in research, diagnosis and care; the importance of prevention of type 2 diabetes and self-management; the impact of diet and lifestyle, and the implications of COVID-19 on the clinically vulnerable.
"Diabetes Matters" will launch on 14 November 2020.
The observation that nurses are the most important health professionals in the treatment of diabetes is the foundation of the next three videos the World Diabetes Day account uploaded to its YouTube channel. Follow over the jump to watch them.
I told my readers to "stay tuned for Fridaythe13th. May it not be an unlucky day!" It turns out today is also WorldKindnessDay, so it could be less unlucky for the recipients of generosity and affection than it otherwise would have been. Here's what National Day Calendar says about the day.
On November 13th, as part of World Kindness Day, we are encouraged to spread kindness like an infectious cold. We want to share it more than usual because studies show when others observe kindness in action they are more likely to carry out an act of kindness, too.
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We each have the potential to improve each others’ lives through understanding and kindness. Whether it’s a friend, family member, coworker or stranger, our ability to show our humanity should have no limit.
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On World Kindness Day, let your compassion shine brightly. Get caught showing as much kindness as possible, too.
While I think telling people to "spread kindness like an infectious cold" is unfortunate wording given the COVID-19 pandemic, I agree with the sentiment. So do the producers of the following three videos. I begin with A Message From Fred Rogers #WorldKindnessDay.
The music is from "Won’t You Be My Neighbor?" I believe the clip is, too. If so, it shows the power of that documentary and of Mister Rogers' legacy, which happens to be the name of the YouTube channel that posted it.
Why, in the West, are people scared by the number 13? And why do we consider Friday the 13th to be a particularly unlucky day?
As a UCLA alumnus, it kills me to share something from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, but my alma mater didn't create a video about today, the University of Southern California did, so they get the honor. Consider it an act of kindness to the Trojans.
That's it for today's double celebration. Stay tuned for two more holiday observances, WorldDiabetesDay tomorrow and AmericaRecyclesDay Sunday.
The President's attempt to stay in office with false claims of massive voter fraud would be laughable were it not for his deeply scary move to replace top Pentagon officials with Trump loyalists ahead of Inauguration Day.
Yes, all this would be risible except for Trump's personnel actions at the Defense Department, which look like what would happen if he wants them to do something nefarious for him. What, I don't know, but I don't like it.
Seth takes a closer look at the Republican Party supporting Trump as he tries to invalidate the results of the 2020 election and overthrow the democratically elected government.
"Sore winners rarely make good losers." Trump is just as sore a loser as he was a sore winner.
The White House continues on as if the election didn’t happen, Trump hasn’t been seen in public since the race was called, and, with lawsuits being thrown out around the country, Republicans turn to the public to find voter fraud evidence.
I agree with Noah; Trump hasn't progress very far along the stages of grief, as he keeps bouncing between denial and anger. I would have to look hard for signs of bargaining, although not showing his face in public for several days might be a symptom of depression. Acceptance? Forget it!
Jimmy sends his thanks and gratitude to Veterans everywhere for their service, Trump visits Arlington National Cemetery after ousting top officials at the Pentagon, Trump is filing lawsuits but even his lawyers can’t seem to find fraud, local officials are being turned into punching bags, Jimmy compares Trump to the woman who claimed to find a finger in her Wendy’s chili in 2005, a County Commissioner in Pennsylvania tweeted something he clearly meant for a fake account, we break down the election for kids with help from “Paw Patrol,” Chris Stapleton has a new COVID Christmas Album, and Jimmy shows off the awesome guitar skills he picked up over quarantine.
Too bad Kimmel didn't show the clip of Trump's Veterans Day visit to Arlington National Cemetary, otherwise I'd point out how the First Lady was holding the arm of the soldier escorting her, not her husband. I'll do it anyway.
I think she's more accepting of the result than her husband.
That's it for today's comedic look at the transition. Stay tuned for Fridaythe13th. May it not be an unlucky day!
The United States Marine Corps West Coast Composite Band performing at the 131st Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on Wednesday, January 1, 2020. This composite group brings three Marine Bands together from around Southern California; Marine Band San Diego, the 1st Marine Division Band and the 3D Marine Aircraft Wing Band. The band members are fully combat-trained and many have been on combat deployments. This fine band has marched in the Rose Parade for over 20 consecutive years.
John Oliver discusses the long week of US presidential election results, including Donald Trump’s various attempts to make the election appear illegitimate, and a historic win for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
The real election is the ElectoralCollege, which votes on December 14, 2020. That's followed by a joint session of the new Congress on January 6, 2021. Biden's and Harris's legal team will have to keep an eye on that to make sure there are no attempts to send a slate of electors who do not reflect their state's popular vote or defections by faithless electors. The good news is that competing slates of electors have not made a difference since the 1876 election and faithless electors haven't made a difference since 1836 and that was for Vice President, not President. Still, people are trying. When John Oliver told his viewers to expect an election month not just an election night, he was not kidding.
Enjoy the moment, as Oliver seemed to be doing, but remain alert for attempts to hijack the process.
That's it for today's comedic take on the election. Stay tuned for amusicalVeteransDay.
Utah's governor is placing the state under a mask mandate, and now there are concerns about celebrations in the streets and on sports fields. ABC's Alex Presha reports.
The United States became the first nation worldwide since the pandemic began to surpass 10 million coronavirus infections, according to a Reuters tally on Sunday, as the third wave of the COVID-19 virus surges across the nation.
The grim milestone came on the same day as global coronavirus cases exceeded 50 million.
The United states has reported about a million cases in the past 10 days, the highest rate of infections since the nation reported its first novel coronavirus case in Washington state 293 days ago.
The country reported a record 131,420 COVID-19 cases on Saturday and has reported over 100,000 infections five times in the past seven days, according to a Reuters tally.
The U.S. latest reported seven-day average of 105,600 daily cases, ramped up by at least 29%, is more than the combined average for India and France, two of the worst affected countries in Asia and Europe.
More than 237,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 since the illness caused by the coronavirus first emerged in China late last year.
Dr. Richard Besser weighs in on Pfizer's newly announced two-shot vaccine, possible efficacy and production as COVID cases surge in the U.S.
Next summer or fall? That means that my response to my favorite supermarket checker's question "when do [you] think things will return to normal?" as "spring of next year, when a vaccine becomes available" was too optimistic. I wasn't being pessimistic enough!
As multiple states see a rise in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths, Cuomo weighs in on what President-elect Biden can do with his coronavirus plan.
Governor Cuomo thinks it's good news-bad news as well, but the bad news is different. He's not confident that the Trump Administration's plan to distribute the vaccine will be sufficient. Based on Trump's handling of the pandemic, I agree. However, if the vaccine is ready for distribution in the summer, then it will be the Biden Administration overseeing it, which I have more confidence in. With Joe Biden creating a COVID-19 task force already, that looks good. Watch COVID-19 task force announced as Biden plans transition to White House from Euronews about that news.
President-elect Joe Biden says dealing with the pandemic will be his top priority - a move backed by the head of the World Health Organization.
I wish Biden luck with this. Not only does he need it, we the American people do, too!
Joe Biden (Jim Carrey) and Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) give speeches after the conclusion of the 2020 presidential election.
First, that's the saddest rendition of "Macho Man" I've ever heard. Second, I think this is the best performance Jim Carrey has given as Joe Biden. Third, when he broke character and pulled out Ace Ventura, I really appreciated it. Finally, I'm looking forward to Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris for the next four plus years.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Trump claiming he will have to be dragged out of the White House kicking and screaming.
Just like Colin Jost, I'm looking forward to not having to pay attention to Donald Trump again. I'll just have to wait until January 20, 2021 for that to be completely true.
Dave Chappelle talks about the 2020 election, COVID-19 and Donald Trump.
It took a while for Dave Chappelle to get to the election, but it was worth it. On the other hand, I wish he wasn't smoking on stage. Sigh.
Since I have a video of Chappelle in which he mentions his Netflix specials, I'm going to congratulate him on the Emmy wins for for "Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones": Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded), Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special. As I wrote in For National Presidential Joke Day, I present the variety talk show nominees at the Emmy Awards, "Wow! No matter who wins, Netflix does as well. As for who I'd bet on, it would be between Dave Chappelle and Patton Oswalt." It was Chappelle. Congratulations!
