Coronavirus response reducing air pollution updates climate change and the environment for the ninth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News

Happy Throwback Thursday!  As I have every Thursday since the blog's 9th birthday, I'm observing the day by posting a retrospective on the top entries on a topic during the previous posting year.  Today's topic is climate change.  I'll review the most popular posts on the subject over the jump.

Now that that's out of the way, it's time for the featured video, CNBC explaining How Coronavirus Quarantines Lead To A Drop In Air Pollution, a video I found when I wrote CNBC explores why coronavirus is more dangerous for diabetics.  Yes, the coronavirus pandemic is affecting everything, including the environment.

As coronavirus quickly spreads around the world, the virus is forcing people to stay put. People aren’t driving or flying, leading to a massive reduction in air pollution, most notably in China, but also in Italy, the U.S. and other hard-hit areas that have implemented directives to stay home.

So staying safe at home is not only saving lives from COVID-19, but so is the reduction in air pollution from reduced travel.  That's quite the silver lining to a response that's also produced record unemployment claims in the U.S.  Unfortunately, it's hampering the fight against climate change.  Sigh, a short-term gain leading to a long-term loss.

One of the experts interviewed in the CNBC segment is Katharine Hayhoe, who I've featured here before.  She has two videos on the interaction among coronavirus, air pollution, and climate change on her Climate Weirding YouTube channel in which she expands on the points she made in the CNBC video.  I begin with Climate Change and Coronavirus | Special Episode.

What does climate change have to do with the coronavirus?

Climate change is not increasing the geographic range of COVID-19. And the novel virus did not come from the permafrost or the soil, like other infectious diseases that climate change is spreading.

So where did it come from? How is it spreading? And what's the connection to climate change?

Find out on this special episode of Global Weirding with Katharine Hayhoe!

One of the most read entries from the previous posting year was about climate change leading to more diseases, so this video provides a good connection and reminder of the risk.

Now, the second video, The Pandemic's Effects on Climate Change | Special Episode.

This pandemic is responsible for untold suffering around the world. If anything, it's simply reminding us how interconnected we all are, and how we can ignore a crisis until it's brought to our attention.

Let's take a step back and say 'what is going on?', in relation to COVID-19's effects on climate change on this special episode of Global Weirding with Katharine Hayhoe.

Hayhoe's video reminded me of what I've written about Commoner's Laws, most recently in World Wildlife Day 2020 celebrates biodiversity.

1. Everything Is Connected to Everything Else. There is one ecosphere for all living organisms and what affects one, affects all.
2. Everything Must Go Somewhere. There is no "waste" in nature and there is no "away" to which things can be thrown.
3. Nature Knows Best. Humankind has fashioned technology to improve upon nature, but such change in a natural system is, says Commoner, "likely to be detrimental to that system."
4. There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch. Exploitation of nature will inevitably involve the conversion of resources from useful to useless forms.

This crisis serves as a good example of the first law.

Follow over the jump for the top posts about climate change from the ninth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.

Bye-bye Bill as de Blasio drops out

It's been three weeks since Kirsten  Gillibrand dropped out, so I've been quiet about the presidential campaign here other than updating Democratic candidates' Voteview scores and posting drinks for candidates at the September and October Democratic debates; the Emmy Awards have been more interesting.  All that changed yesterday as Bill de Blasio dropped out.  CBS News reports.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday morning that he's ending his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination after making no headway in the polls and failing to qualify for the last debate. CBSN political reporter Caitlin Huey-Burns has more on the latest shakeup in the race.

Oddly enough, I had just mentioned Mayor de Blasio in a comment to Turning on the Light at Kunstler's blog.

I've been following the ideological progress of Mayor De Blasio according to On The Issues since he announced his candidacy.  For such a notorious liberal, he started off near the right end of the spectrum.  Since then, he has moved to the left and is now the median candidate ideologically in the remaining field.  That means he's just an average Democrat.

And now he's gone, so it's time to quote FiveThirtyEight in their first 2020 drop out draft and then retire some memes and recipes.  Follow over the jump for those.

'Frontline' updates 'Facebook knows your political affiliation and much more,' the top post of the eighth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News

Facebook knows your political affiliation and much more posted April 7, 2018, was not only the most read entry of the eighth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News, but also in the entire history of the blog with 28,357 default and 28,854 raw page views.  That's more than 8,000 page views more than the top post for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News, Suit against John Oliver and HBO dismissed.  Once again, wow!

Before I describe how the entry earned those page views, I'm sharing an update on this short post.  Fortunately, Frontline on PBS has provided one, The Facebook Dilemma, Part One (full film).

A major investigation of Facebook’s impact on privacy and democracy around the world...Facebook’s promise was to create a more open and connected world. FRONTLINE finds that multiple warnings about the platform’s negative impact on privacy and democracy were eclipsed by Facebook’s relentless pursuit of growth.

As Data Spock would say, fascinating!  Even though I covered the ability of social media to polarize users and encourage unreasonableness and incivility in Vox explains how social media contributes to polarization and promotes trolls, conspiracy theorists, and fake news and how those tendencies can be deliberated aggravated by bad actors in Vox explains how Russian trolls weaponized social media, another popular entry, this "Frontline" episode adds new layers of history and context to those posts.

In addition, I have the same reaction to this documentary that I had to "Putin's Revenge" on "Frontline," that it will earn at least one News and Documentary Emmy Award nomination.  I was right about that prediction, as "Putin's Revenge" earned two nominations and I am confident enough that the same will happen to "The Facebook Dilemma" that I am holding off embedding Part Two until the News and Documentary Emmy nominations are announced.  As for the specific awards, I expect it will definitely earn a nomination for either Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary or Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary, and possibly for Best Documentary, Outstanding Writing, or Outstanding Research.  As I wrote before, "I am not going to hold my breath.  It's a long time until the end of July, when the nominees are announced, and the competition will be stiff."

Enough of the update.  Follow over the jump for the story of how this entry became the top post of all time so far on this blog plus  a related top twenty entry from the eighth year of this blog.

Drink to an early spring on Groundhog Day 2019

Happy Groundhog Day!  According to the animals and most especially their handlers, the northeastern U.S. is going to have an early spring.  I begin with the most famous of the overgrown ground squirrels as CBS News reports Groundhog Day 2019: Punxsutawney Phil makes his weather prediction.

Pennsylvania's most famous groundhog did not see his shadow on Saturday, predicting an early spring this year. Members of Punxsutawney Phil's top hat-wearing inner circle revealed the forecast.

An early spring?  Let's see what New York City's own groundhog, Staten Island Chuck, has to say.

The cold didn’t keep the crowds away from the Staten Island Zoo’s Groundhog Day Ceremony. Watch the events leading up to Chuck's 2019 prediction here!

Staten Island Chuck also predicted an early spring and had a more fun and less formal ceremony as well.

Of course, I live in Metro Detroit, so I have to see what the local groundhog predicts about our weather.  Watch MLive's Woody the Woodchuck declares early spring.

Woody the Woodchuck has been predicting the season of Spring for 20 years. This year, she says it will come early.

It's unanimous!  In this case, it also appears more genuine, as both Punxsutawney Phil and Staten Island Chuck had their predictions written in advance by their handlers (I think they were looking at the 90-day forecast, which predicts warmer than normal temperatures for the eastern seaboard).  Woody's prediction came after the 30 second wait and there seemed to be no script.

Color me skeptical, as the groundhogs were wrong and I was right about the weather in 2013, when all three predicted an early spring, but it's good news for now.  To celebrate Punxsutawney Phil, Staten Island Chuck, and Woody the Woodchuck all predicting an early spring, I'm serving Groundhog Day Cocktail from How to Drink.*  Follow over the jump.

Best Original Score nominees at the 2019 Golden Globes

Just as I did for Nominated movie songs at the 2019 Grammy Awards and Best Original Song nominees at the 2019 Golden Globes, I am going to be a good environmentalist and recycle, this time from Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 96.

Happy Hump Day!  I'm continuing to be the DJ and bartender for this weekly series while Don Durito is returning from his walkabout.  For today's theme, I'm sharing selections from soundtracks of movies nominated at the Golden Globe Awards.  This continues the theme of movie music and awards shows that I started in Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 94 and continued in last week's Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 95.

I begin with United Nations / End Titles by Ludwig Goransson from "Black Panther."


This score has also been nominated for a Grammy and a Critics' Choice Award and, like all the rest of the Golden Globes nominees, is on the shortlist for an Oscar nomination.

Next, "Isle of Dogs" End Titles by Alexandre Desplat.


This is also nominated for a Critics' Choice Award.

I'm continuing with Marco Beltrami - "A Quiet Life" from "A Quiet Place."


This is the only Golden Globe nomination for this movie.

The selection from the fourth nominated score is "The Landing (from First Man)" by Justin Hurwitz.


This is also nominated for a Critics' Choice Award.

The final selection from a nominated score is Marc Shaiman - Theme from Mary Poppins Returns


This is also nominated for a Critics' Choice Award.

Follow over the jump for the drink I served in the tip jar.

Best Original Song nominees at the 2019 Golden Globes

Just as I did for Nominated movie songs at the 2019 Grammy Awards, I am going to be a good environmentalist and recycle, this time from Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 95 at Booman Tribune.

I'm continuing to be the DJ and bartender for this weekly series while Don Durito is returning from his walkabout.  For today's theme, I'm sharing songs from movies nominated at the Golden Globe Awards.  This continues the theme of movie music and awards shows that I started in last week's Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 94.

I begin with Dolly Parton: Girl in the Movies from the movie "Dumplin'."  This performance is from The Tonight Show.

Music guest Dolly Parton performs "Girl in the Movies," with special guest Linda Perry, for the Tonight Show audience.

In addition to its Golden Globe nomination, "Girl in the Movies" also earned a nomination for Best Song at the Critics' Choice Awards.

Next, Annie Lennox - Requiem For A Private War from "A Private War."

“Writing ‘Requiem for a Private War’ for the film ‘A Private War’ has not only given me an opportunity to honour Marie Colvin, but also aims to amplify the ‘truth to power’ message she fought all her life to convey to the world, regarding the atrocious consequences of warfare and it’s effects upon innocent civilian populations.” Annie Lennox

The last song I'm sharing in the diary proper is REVELATION (Lyric Video) - Troye Sivan and Jónsi from "Boy Erased."


I mentioned both "A Private War" and "Boy Erased" in 'Vice' may be the best political film of 2018, earning nominations before it even hits theaters, so it was time that I wrote about their nominated songs.

The other two nominees are "All the Stars" from "Black Panther" and "Shallow" from "A Star Is Born."  Follow over the jump for them, as they had their time above the fold last week.

Nominated movie songs at the 2019 Grammy Awards

Today, I'm posting a belated entertainment entry that I'm recycling from Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 94 at Booman Tribune.

A belated Happy Hump Day!  I'm continuing to be the DJ and bartender for this weekly series while Don Durito is returning from his walkabout.  For today's theme, I'm sharing songs from movies nominated at the Grammy Awards.  Yes, I'm a sucker for movie music and awards shows.  Today's category is Best Song Written For Visual Media.

I begin with a song that I predicted would earn a Grammy nomination last May, Kendrick Lamar, SZA - All The Stars from "Black Panther."


I also predicted that it would earn an Oscar nomination.  I'll have to wait until next month to find out if I'm right, but it did earn a Golden Globe nomination, so that's a start.  In the meantime, I'll note that "All the Stars" is also nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Rap/Sung Performance.

Also earning nominations at both the Grammy Awards and Golden Globes is "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper from "A Star Is Born."


Like "All the Stars," "Shallow" has four Grammy nominations.  In addition to Best Song Written For Visual Media, it is also nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Those are the songs from this year's movies.  Follow over the jump for nominees from 2017.

Music and a drink for Thanksgiving 2018

Once again, Happy Thanksgiving!  I told my readers to "stay tuned" at the end of Olaf and other Disney balloons in Macy's Parade plus my favorite marching bands in today's parades, as I promised that "I'm not done with the holiday, as I plan on posting a Tipsy Bartender drinks for Thanksgiving entry later today."  I'm going to be a good environmentalist by recycling a modified version of Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 91, which I posted at Booman Tribune yesterday.  I'm acting DJ and bartender for this weekly series while the regular host Don Durito is on walkabout.  For today's theme, I'm picking songs from Billboard's Thanksgiving Songs: Music About Food, Giving Thanks, and the Holiday.

The first song on the list just happens to tie into my love of awards shows, in this case,  the 2018 Critics' Choice Documentary Awards.  As I reported in 'RBG' wins Best Political Documentary, 'Won’t You Be My Neighbor?' Best Documentary, Quincy Jones received Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary and the documentary "Quincy" won Best Music Documentary.  With no further ado, here is Groovy Gravy.


Next, James Brown with Mashed Potatoes, U.S.A.


For the last song in today's entry, I'm sharing Thanksgiving Theme by Vince Guaraldi from the Peanuts specials.


I had to have some music for Snoopy to dance to.

This year's Thanksgiving drink from Tipsy Bartender is Pumpkin Pie Shots.

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy these shots and say hello to Natalie!

PUMPKIN PIE SHOTS
1 Part Whipped Cream Vodka
1 Part Pumpkin Spice Liqueur
1 Part Rum Cream
1 Spoon Pumpkin Puree
Garnish: Graham Cracker Crumbs/Whipped Cream/Pumpkin Spice

That's it for this year's drink recipes.  I'm saving the five recipes I didn't use last year for future entries.  Not only do I recycle, I conserve my resources.

That's it for Thanksgiving for now.  Stay tuned for a post about Black Friday/Buy Nothing Day tomorrow.

WUSA and CNN report on likely Russian election interference and the Administration's conflicted response

It's a new month, so it's time for a new installment of Putin's hackers and agents.  June's episode had Vox explain how Russian trolls weaponized social media.  The advice for July again featured Vox, who explained how not to get phished (like the DNC).  This month, I have videos from WUSA 9 in Washington, D.C. and CNN on the latest developments.

I begin with WUSA, which summarized the situation in Election interference is happening now on August 2, 2018.



Foreign agents are interfering in our country's elections.
For more detail, follow over the jump for five videos from CNN outlining the nature of the threat and how the adminstration is responding inconsistently to it with the intelligence community taking it seriously while Donald Trump discounts it.*

Action, Thriller, Independent, and International Films at the Saturn Awards

Today, I finished writing about the Saturn Awards movie nominees with the "entry about the Action, Thriller, Independent, and International Film nominees" I promised yesterday. Without any further ado, here are the nominees in all four categories from File 770 along with my comments.

Best Action / Adventure Film Release:

"Baby Driver" (TriStar / Sony Pictures)
"Dunkirk" (Warner Bros.)
"The Fate of the Furious" (Universal)
"The Greatest Showman" (20th Century Fox)
"Hostiles" (Entertainment Studios)
"Kingsman: The Golden Circle" (20th Century Fox)

I haven't decided yet which of these movies to vote for. The Oscar winner for Editing and Best Picture nominee is "Dunkirk."  The three-time Oscar nominee is "Baby Driver."  The surprise, but still with an Oscar nomination for Original Song, is "The Greatest Showman."  In order, those are the entertainment establishment's nominees and mine as well.  That doesn't mean that I think any of them will win, even if one of them should.  Instead, I suspect "The Fate of the Furious" is likely to walk away with the Saturn statuette.  I watched that movie on a flight this summer and it was pure dumb escapist fun.  As I think I've mentioned in almost every entry of this series so far, "the Saturn Awards are about entertainment not art, they don't care for subtle, and they love to stick it to the experts."  Voting for "The Fate of the Furious" would fit all three criteria.

As I have for the past two entries, I'm pointing out a snub in this category, "Atomic Blonde."  That could have been here instead of "The Greatest Showman" or "Hostiles," but may have deserved not being nominated.  I wrote as much in the comments to Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 58 at Booman Tribune.

"Atomic Blonde" had a great star, a great soundtrack, and an interesting premise, but it ended up being kind of a dud.  I was expecting it to earn a nomination for Best Action / Adventure Film Release at the Saturn Awards, but it got beat out by the obscure film "Hostiles" and the musical "The Greatest Showman" in addition to all the films I expected to be nominated, "Baby Driver," "Dunkirk," "The Fate of the Furious" (in which Charlize Theron also starred), and "Kingsman: The Golden Circle."  "Atomic Blonde" couldn't get any respect from the people who honor films the Hollywood professionals don't respect!

Oh, well, at least it has a nomination at the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards for Best Fight.

Best Thriller Film Release:

"Brawl in Cell Block 99" (RLJE Films)
"Murder on the Orient Express" (20th Century Fox)
"The Post" (20th Century Fox)
"Suburbicon" (Paramount)
"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (Fox Searchlight)
"Wind River" (TWC)

I'll be a good environmentalist and recycle what I wrote in Three thrillers for the Saturn Awards at my Dreamwidth journal.

During the past week, my wife and I watched three movies nominated for Best Thriller Film Release at the Saturn Awards. While we both watched it for the entertainment, I was also evaluating which one of the three would get my vote, as I am a Saturn Awards member.

"Murder on the Orient Express" was a remake of a movie I watched with my parents in the 1970s, so I wasn't surprised at the twist; it was the same. I did enjoy the all-star cast, the settings, and the lavish production values. I was surprised it was not nominated for an Academy Award. It was obvious Oscar bait, probably too obvious.

"The Post" won Best Film about Politics and Government at the first Coffee Party Entertainment Awards for movies. It deserved it. It was indeed a thriller, although a low-key one. It also had the best ending.

"Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri" had great acting, a decent amount of action, and great performances [ETA: camera work and editing]. Unfortunately, my wife and I found its ending disappointing. I'm not voting for it, although I'm still considering voting for Frances McDormand for Best Actress in a Movie. Instead, I think I'm casting my vote in this category for "The Post."

The only other nominee I'd consider to be serious would be "Wind River."  "Suburbicon" was a high-concept flop and "Brawl in Cell Block 99" deservedly earned a nomination for Best Overlooked Film from the Hawaii Film Critics Society (it lost to "Wind River" and "T2 Trainspotting").  I would have suggested "Molly's Game" instead.

Best Independent Film Release:

"I, Tonya" (Neon)
"LBJ" (Electric Entertainment)
"Lucky" (Magnolia)
"Professor Marston and the Wonder Women" (Annapurna Pictures)
"Super Dark Times" (The Orchard)
"Wonder" (Lionsgate)
"Wonderstruck" (Amazon / Roadside Attractions)

Only one film in the field is both an Oscar winner (Supporting Actress for Allison Janney) and a nominee (Best Female Lead for Margot Robbie) and winner (Best Editing) at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, "I, Tonya."  That makes it my likely choice.  That doesn't make it the favorite, as this is its only nomination at the Saturn Awards.  Instead, I think one of "Wonder" or "Wonderstruck," each of which has three nominations here, will likely be the winner.  Of the two, "Wonder" was nominated for an Oscar for Best Hair and Make-Up, but didn't win.  It was also nominated for three awards at the Makeup and Hair Stylists Guild Awards, but was shut out.  I was not impressed, but the bulk of the Saturn Awards electorate might care.  On the other hand, the Saturn Awards are the only awards show to have nominated "Wonderstruck" for any awards.  Voting for it might be a good way to "stick it to the experts."  Speaking of which, the dark horse would be "Professor Marston and the Wonder Women," which could win if all the comic book fans voted for it.  I don't think that will happen, especially since I think most of them are voting for "Black Panther," not "Wonder Woman."

Given the almost complete disjunction between this field and the movies nominated at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, there are too many potential snubs to name.  That written, "Call Me by Your Name," "Lady Bird," "The Big Sick," and "The Florida Project" would have been a high-quality independent field in addion to the three movies I mentioned above.

Best International Film Release:

"Baahubali 2: The Conclusion" (Arka Media Works)
"Brimstone" (Momentum Pictures)
"The Lodgers" (Epic Pictures Group)
"The Man Who Invented Christmas" (Bleecker Street)
"The Square" (Magnolia)
"Wolf Warrior 2" (Well Go USA)

"The Square" is far and away the establishment choice in this field, as it not only earned an Oscar nomination, but also nominations for Best Foreign Language Film at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards and Golden Globe Awards.  In fact, it's the only nominee from any of these awards in this field, which means I'm likely to vote for it.  On the other hand, "The Man Who Invented Christmas," which I thought might be nominated for Best Fantasy Film, was.  Remember, this is an International Film category, not a Foreign Language one, as "The Man Who Invented Christmas" is in English.  I suspect that will give it a leg up with the Saturn Awards electorate.  As for snubs, both "Thelma" and "Body and Soul" were both foreign language speculative fiction movies nominated at the Critics' Choice Awards and Academy Awards, respectively, but they weren't nominated here.

Follow over the jump for the other categories with nominees from these films.

Drink to 'Coco' at the Saturn Awards for Cinco De Mayo

¡Feliz Cinco De Mayo!  As I promised yesterday, today's entry features "Coco" and the other animated film nominees at the Saturn Awards.  From File 770, here are the categories in which it and the other animated films are nominated.

Best Animated Film Release:

"Cars 3" (Walt Disney Studios)
"Coco" (Walt Disney Studios)
"Despicable Me 3" (Universal)
"The Boss Baby" (20th Century Fox)
"Your Name" (Funimation)

While "Coco" won the Academy Awards for Animated Feature Film and Original Song as well as all the Annie Awards it was eligible for and "The Boss Baby" earned a nomination for Animated Feature Film at the Oscars, that does not guarantee either a victory at the Saturn Awards.  While eight of the last fifteen winners have also won the Academy Award for Animated Feature Film and four others have been nominees, three winners were never nominated for an Oscar, including two of the past three, "The LEGO Movie," which earned a Hugo nomination for Dramatic Presentation (long form) in a year marked by controversy, and "Finding Dory," which I expected would win and did in an apparent attempt "to rectify it not even being nominated for the Oscar while being the highest grossing animated film last year."  "Despicable Me 3" is in exactly the same situation this year as "Finding Dory" last year, so I wouldn't put it past the Saturn electorate to vote for it instead of my choice, "Coco."  Remember, as I wrote first in Speculative fiction nominees at the 2018 SAG Awards, "the Saturn Awards are about entertainment not art, they don't care for subtle, and they love to stick it to the experts."  With these caveats in mind, the nomination of "Your Name" makes perfect sense, as I've read nothing but good things about it, so I have nothing bad to say about its inclusion in this field.

What doesn't make sense to me is the lack of a sixth nominee, which has existed in this category since 2014.  I listed 19 animated films in Celebrate National Science Fiction Day with 'The Last Jedi' atop the 2017 box office, so it's not like there weren't enough movies for a sixth film.  In particular, Oscar nominee "Ferdinand" or the third biggest animated film of 2017 at the box office, "The LEGO Batman Movie," would have been good choices.  "Ferdinand" may have not had enough content of interest to adults, but I thought "The LEGO Batman Movie" would be a good fit for the Saturn Awards, so much so that I thought it might be the sixth nominee for Best Comic-to-Motion Picture Release instead of "Justice League" (that ended up being "Black Panther").  It's great entertainment, it's not subtle, and the experts, in the form of the Motion Picture Academy, ignored it.  The only reason I can think of that makes any sense is that it was not eligible.  It debuted on February 10th, so it may have been eligible for last year's awards instead, or it may not have been screened for the Los Angeles members, either in time or at all.  If so, that's a shame.

Follow over the jump for Coco's other nomination.

A recycled song and drink for a late Earth Day

Last year, I posted Drink to a late drum corps Earth Day.  Today, I'm sharing a modified entry I originally posted at Booman Tribune, A song and drink for Earth Day.  I decided to do something lighter over there, than Vox on going green by reducing waste for Earth Day 2018.  The readers over there and I enjoyed it so much I decided to recycle here now instead of saving it for next year.  I'm sure I can figure out something different next Earth Day.

For the song, watch Florence and the Machine turn "So Big, So Blue, So Beautiful" into an environmental anthem.

Live version of their song for a climate change event

For the drink, I'm sharing Nuptini Earth Day Cocktail.

For Earth Day, Nuptini teams up with Glass Dharma to bring you a cocktail that's as eco-friendly as it is delicious!

Here's to a sustainable celebration!

Update to 'Vox explains how proportional representation can solve gerrymandering and help minor parties,' the second most read entry for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News, plus minor parties

The second most read entry of the seventh year of the blog was Vox explains how proportional representation can solve gerrymandering and help minor parties, posted November 9, 2017.  It ended the blogging year with 12,974 raw page views, 12,714 according to the default counter.  It was the first entry to earn more than 10,000 page views the year it was posted and was the number one post between December 2, 2017 and March 4, 2018, when Suit against John Oliver and HBO dismissed passed it to claim the top spot.

Before I explain how this entry climbed to number one and stayed there for three months, I'm will do the same thing here that I did in Update to 'Suit against John Oliver and HBO dismissed,' top post for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News, following up with an update to the subject of the original post.  Fortunately, three articles about using proportional representation in the U.S. were published just this month.

The first one by David Wassel in The Hill, asked What is to be done with congressional districts? Try proportional representation in response to the lawsuit fighting gerrymandering in Pennsylvania.

But maybe districts themselves are the problem. Fortunately, an alternative is available: proportional representation. It’s an idea that is beginning to attract the attention of more and more political commentators, grassroots groups and others. Under this system, both major parties (as well as minor ones) might pick slates of 18 nominees in regional geographic primary elections. Instead of voting for one representative in 18 separate districts, a statewide congressional election would be held with each voter casting votes for up to 18 candidates from the various slates. In Pennsylvania, we do this in judicial elections when there are multiple court openings. The number of seats awarded to each party would be determined by the percentage of the vote received by that party, statewide.
...
Proportional representation offers an opportunity to remove politics as much as possible from this particular process while injecting some much-needed clarity and certainty.

Are there problems with this proposal?  Of course; nothing is perfect and, as with drawing districts, there are always trade-offs. But this system is both fairer and more reflective of actual voter intent. It would eliminate, instead of just minimizing, the wasted votes because partisan voters are overwhelmingly concentrated in particular districts. And how better to address the problem of unfair advantage, the basis of the court’s decision to scrap the old map?

The biggest difficulty is political feasibility. Vested interests will cling to status quo, or make cosmetic changes, at best. Anything new is always frightening. But the voters in Pennsylvania deserve an intelligent and workable solution to this problem — one that might become an example for other states facing such challenges.

Next, the U.S. Centre of the London School of Economics analyzed the effect of proportional represenation in Maryland’s electoral maps show how proportional representation could solve the problem of gerrymandering.*

This week the US Supreme Court hears a case concerning the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering in Maryland. Examining current, past, and alternative electoral maps, Alex Keena, Michael Latner, Anthony J. McGann, and Charles Anthony Smith find that by making districts more competitive, some redistricting plans can actually work against one party or the other. Only the introduction of proportional representation with multi-member districts, they argue, would mean a truly fair electoral system for Maryland.
...
The last alternate, PR plan, divides Maryland into two districts, with district one containing five seats, and district two containing the other three seats.  The larger district includes the more heavily populated region of the state.

Using a neutral electoral formula for seat allocation (one that does not provide a bonus to the largest party), this system would assure two seats to Republicans (assuming two party competition), and would nearly assure them a third seat in the larger district, for a total of 38 percent of the seats, about as proportional as you can get (responsiveness is trickier to estimate for multi-seat districts and is excluded from the table, but it is insignificant, given the low disproportionality).  Moreover, every voter contributes to their party’s seat share.  The votes of rural Democrats and urban Republicans are as valuable as anyone else’s, and racial groups don’t need to be packed into districts to have an equal and effective voice in choosing representatives.

Maryland’s Democratic gerrymander is an excellent case for understanding the dynamics of disproportionality.  Still, it is highly unlikely that a majority of Supreme Court Justices will recognize the direct connection between individual political equality and greater proportionality, indeed greater proportionality than our current electoral system can provide.  But the Justices have before them two clear cases of extreme partisan gerrymandering, each designed by the other political party.  And they have a discernable and manageable standard, symmetry, which provides direction to how the problem might be remedied.   We hope that all voters, regardless of partisan preference, are soon relieved of the very real discrimination that gerrymandering causes.  And we hope that one day soon, party leaders will consider the electoral remedies available to them to advocate for greater political equality.

The authors note one problem with proportional representation in the U.S. House of Representatives but mention a solution.

Multi-seat districts are currently prohibited for Congress, but there is a bill in committee, the Fair Representation Act, that would facilitate multi-seat Congressional districts.  Several states previously elected their Congressional delegates using multi-seat districts, though they used discriminatory plurality formulas.  Several state legislatures, including Maryland, still use multi-seat districts to elect some members.

The Fair Representation Act includes ranked-choice voting in addition to proportional representation in multi-member districts.**  So do two plans from California.  Follow over the jump for those.

Music at March For Our Lives

I watched March For Our Lives Saturday and I was impressed with the pop stars who came out in support of the demonstration, providing their support through song.  My favorite was Ariana Grande, who sang Be Alright.


This isn't the first time she has performed this song at an event against violence.  She used as her entrance at One Love Manchester, a benefit concert for the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund in coordination with the Red Cross in response to the bombing of her previous concert in the U.K. city.

Following along with the image I used to illustrate this entry, I present Miley Cyrus singing The Climb.

Miley Cyrus performing singing The Climb Live At March For Our Lives.

Continuing along the image, the next singer is Demi Lovato performing Skyscraper.

Its time. Change is happening. Let's go save our lives!

This was the first performance I saw and I was impressed.

I conclude with a performance I mentioned in the comments to Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 57 at Booman Tribune.

I'd try any of the songs performed by the singers at the rally in Washington, DC.  I would post "Be Alright" by Ariana Grande, but I'm planning on using that for No. 58 this coming Wednesday.  How about "The Times They are a Changin'" by Bob Dylan?  Jennifer Hudson sang that today.
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I'll have Jennifer Hudson's rendition on Wednesday so long as it's still up on YouTube, along with videos of the rest of the performers.

Here it is, D.C. choir sings with Jennifer Hudson, 'The Times They Are A Changin' at March For Our Lives Rally.


Yes, I will be posting all of these videos at Booman Tribune later today.  That means two things.  First, I'll post the link here when I do.  Also, I'll be posting a drink recipe in the tip jar.  This time, it won't be a cocktail from Tipsy Bartender.  Instead, it's Ariana Grande Frappuccino | Starbucks Secret Menu.

How to order:
Start with a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino w/ Raspberry Syrup (aka the Cotton Candy Frappuccino)
Add extra mocha syrup
Add extra mocha chips
Blend
Top with extra whipped cream
Finish with a generous caramel drizzle

That looks like it tastes better than a unicorn frappucchino.

ETA: Posted at Booman Tribune.

Songs about Spring for the Vernal Equinox

Happy arrival of astronomical Spring!  For this year's celebration of the Vernal Equinox, I'm following the same format as I did for Pi Day and the Ides of March, posting the videos I will share later at Booman Tribune for another edition of Midweek Cafe and Lounge.  This week's theme is Spring, of course.

I begin with Ella Fitzgerald's version of Rogers and Hart's Spring Is Here.*


This was originally from the 1938 stage musical I Married an Angel, which became a 1942 film of the same name.  As I observed at Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 56, "I never get too far away from movie music," a tendency I'll indulge later in this post.

The next song is Lou Rawls Spring Again.


He talks about young love.  That's a theme of the next song, .Spring Fever by Elvis Presley from the movie "Girl Happy."


As I wrote above, "I never get too far away from movie music."

Finally, here is a drink for the turning of the season that also fits the themes of the last two songs, Spring Time Love from Tipsy Bartender.

Here's the recipe:

SPRING TIME LOVE
1 oz. (30ml) Gin
1/2 oz. (15ml) Elderflower Liqueur
1/2 oz. (15ml) Hibiscus Simple Syrup
1/2 oz. (15ml) Lime Juice
Pineapple
Hard Cider
Blackberries
Lime Zest

PREPARATION
1. Middle Blackberries in the base of a shaking glass.
2. Add gin, elderflower liqueur, hibiscus simple syrup, and lime juice. Add ice and shake well.
3. Add some crushed ice to a serving glass and strain mix.
4. Top with pineapple hard cider and garnish with lime zest and blackberries.

Enjoy responsibly!

I will post all of these videos at Booman Tribune tomorrow as part of Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 57.  I'll add the link here when that happens.  (ETA: Link added.)

That's it for the last post of the seventh year of this Crazy Eddie's Motie News.  Stay tuned for this year's celebration of Persian New Year and the birthdays of Twitter and this blog.

*There are radically different versions by Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, Peter Nero, Frank Sinatra, and Carly Simon.  I'll post those some other time.  After all, I'm an environmentalist; I not only recycle my ideas, I conserve my resources.

St. Patrick's Day food, drink, and dance from WXYZ

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  This year, I'm taking a break from Tipsy Bartender to share food and drink ideas from WXYZ.  I just needed a change of pace and ideas from local sources fit the bill for a Detroit-based sustainability and entertainment blog.  Fortunately, WXYZ had four food and drink clips just from this week.

I begin with St. Patrick's Day Drinks.


Whiskey drinks, of course, including Irish Coffee.*

Follow over the jump for the food and dance.

Two songs about Pompeii and a volcano drink for the Ides of March

"Beware The Ides of March!"  That's how I concluded Three pie songs and a pie drink for Pi Day 2018.  Over at Booman Tribune, I told my readers there what form today's doom would take, writing "I'll return tomorrow with songs and drinks inspired by the destruction of Pompeii" in the comments there.  More death and destruction in the Roman World for the Ides of March!

I begin the festivities with Siouxsie & The Banshees - Cities In Dust [Music Video].


That's a 20th Century song inspired by the disaster.  For a 21st Century take, here's Bastille - Pompeii.



Music video by Bastille performing Pompeii.
Those are the songs for today.  Now for the drink, the Lava Flow from Tipsy Bartender.

The most awesome blended drink ever...THE LAVA FLOW! Cocktails are mighty personal things, and people can have vastly different preferences for what kind they like. But we're going to go out on a limb here and say that EVERYONE will love this drink! Fruit and rum is already a badass combination, and with the extra sweetness of cream of coconut, this drink is unbeatable. Close your eyes as you take a sip and it's easy to imagine that you're laying on a tropical white sand beach. Mmm!
...
LAVA FLOW
1oz Light Rum
1oz Coconut Rum
2oz Strawberries
1 Banana
2oz Pineapple Juice
2oz Cream of Coconut

I'm an environmentalist and I recycle, which is why I beg my readers' forgiveness by not reusing the recipes in Drink a Flaming Volcano for Jindal.  I decided to do something new today, even if the readers of Booman Tribune haven't seen my old material before.  Surprise!

Three pie songs and a pie drink for Pi Day 2018

Happy Pi Day!  To celebrate, I'm previewing the songs and drink I'll post later today at Booman Tribune for this week's edition of Midweek Cafe and Lounge #56, a weekly music feature there.  In keeping with the last two Pi Days, the songs and drink share a pie theme.

I begin with Madonna's cover of Don McLean's iconic American Pie.


Go get 'em, local girl!

Next, Jay & the Techniques with their 1967 hit Apples Peaches Pumpkin Pie.


That was a fun discovery on YouTube.

The final song on a pie theme is I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) by The Four Tops.


I enjoyed working backwards in time with these songs.

Now for the drink, Flaming Pumpkin Pie Shots from Tipsy Bartender, of course.

Here's the recipe:

FLAMING PUMPKIN PIE SHOT
1 part Coffee Liqueur
1 part Irish Cream
1 part Goldschläger
Pumpkin Pie Spice
PREPARATION
1. Pour coffee liqueur into the base of a shot glass before layering on Irish cream
2. Carefully top with a layer of goldschläger.
3. Ignite the top of the drink and sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice.
DRINK RESPONSIBLY!

When I post the Booman Tribune version, which will be modified and expanded, I'll post the link here.  In the meantime, Happy Pi Day and Beware The Ides of March!

ETA: Booman Tribune version, Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 56, has been posted.

How did my Oscar predictions fare? Pretty well, actually

I opened and closed Diversity, representation, inclusion, and fantasy all winners at the 90th Academy Awards with a summary report and a promise to expand on it later.

I want to get fantasy out of the way.  The big winner was "The Shape of Water" with four Oscars, Best Picture, Best Director, Original Score, and Production Design.  Two speculative fiction movies won two awards each, "Blade Runner 2049" earning Cinematography and Visual Effects and "Coco" winning Animated Feature Film and Original Song.  Two other speculative fiction films won one Oscar each, "Get Out" for Original Screenplay and "Dear Basketball" for Animated Short Film.  That's a total of ten awards out of the nineteen categories in which speculative fiction films were nominated.  That's definitely better than the six wins out of sixteen nominations speculative fiction films earned last year and better in an absolute sense than the nine wins out of fifteen nominations in 2016, most of which went to "Mad Max: Fury Road."

I'll discuss the speculative fiction movies more later.*
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*I plan on writing about the political implications of "Icarus" winning Best Documentary Feature, the political themes in some of the Live Action Short Films and Documentary Short nominees, and finally comparing my predictions from 'The Shape of Water' and 'Blade Runner 2049' lead speculative fiction nominees at the Oscars and other entries with reality.  Stay tuned.

I took care of the first two goals with 'Icarus' wins Best Documentary, making a political point at Putin's expense and Politics and diversity among Oscar nominated short subjects, so it's time to follow through with the third.  Follow over the jump for my Oscar predictions with reality.

'The Shape of Water,' 'Wonder Woman,' 'Game of Thrones,' and 'The Handmaid's Tale' all winners at the Costume Designers Guild Awards

My busy week of blogging about the results of awards shows continues with the winners of the the Costume Designers Guild Awards.  Take it away (not really) The Hollywood Reporter.*

2018 Costume Designers Guild Award Winners: The Complete List | by The Hollywood Reporter.  As a precursor to the Academy Awards — less than two weeks away — Tuesday's Costume Designers Guild ...

Just to review, the speculative fiction film winners were "The Shape of Water" for Excellence in Period Film and "Wonder Woman" for Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film.  In addition, Guillermo Del Toro won the Distinguished Collaborator Award.

I thought "The Shape of Water" had a chance, as it was also nominated at the BAFTA Awards and Critics' Choice Awards, but I was not optimistic, as it was competing against "Phantom Thread," which won at both the BAFTA Awards and the Critics' Choice Award for Best Costume Design.  I'm now more optimistic about its chances for an Oscar in this category, even though I still think "The Phantom Tread" is the favorite.  While I was rooting for "Wonder Woman" along with "The Last Jedi," I thought "Beauty and the Beast" was the favorite.  I am glad to be wrong.  Unfortunately, "Wonder Woman" is not nominated in any category at the Oscars, so this win means nothing there.  I still think it is very likely to earn a nomination at the Saturn Awards for its costumes.

I didn't think "Get Out" would win for Excellence in Contemporary Film, favoring "I, Tonya."  I was right, "I, Tonya" won.  Unfortunately, it isn't nominated for an Academy Award for its costumes, either.  I highly doubt it will be nominated at the Saturn Awards in this category, but they might consider it an Action Film, so I won't be completely surprised, either.


On the television side, the speculative fiction winners are "Game of Thrones" for Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Television and "The Handmaid's Tale" for Excellence in Contemporary Television.  I was rooting for "Once Upon a Time" but expected "Game of Thrones" to win.  I was also rooting for "The Handmaid's Tale" to win its category but was reluctant to deem it the favorite.  I shouldn't have been so cautious.

As for Excellence in Period Film, that went to "The Crown" as I expected.  I really didn't think "Stranger Things" had better costumes and I was right.

Finally, even though I was rooting for Katy Perry's “Chained to the Rhythm” to win Excellence in Short Form Design, that trophy went to P!NK's “Beautiful Trauma” instead.  Here is its video.**


Channing Tatum sure can dance!

That's a wrap for the Costume Designers Guild Awards.  Stay tuned for the nominees of the Makeup and Hair Stylists Guild Awards.

*This is an imposter account.  I should report it, but it's giving me videos the verified Hollywood Reporter account isn't, so I won't.  In the meantime, anyone want to venture a guess as to when the account and its videos will be taken down?

**I featured both videos along with Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" in Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 53 at Booman Tribune.