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.
Including Bugonia got pushback in the replies; several users questioned its inclusion or flatly stated that it's not horror. I'm agree; it's science fiction that appeals to horror fans, but it's not horror.
Happy International Women's Day! Yesterday, I asked "Actresses and other female-dominated categories at the Oscars, anyone?" I didn't see any comments to the contrary, so that's what I'm covering for the Sunday entertainment feature today as filtered through Gold Derby's odds. Jessie Buckley leads Best Actress in a Leading Role for her role as the original Anne Hathaway in Hamnet with every editor and expert plus 96.3% of users. Rose Byrne sits in second with the support of 2.5% of users. She's followed by Renate Reinsve at 0.6%, Emma Stone at 0.5%, and Kate Hudson at 0.1%. I voted for Stone at the Saturn Awards and hope she wins tonight; she's not winning here.
The contest for Best Actress in a Supporting role is more competitive, as Amy Madigan currently leads as the choice of 80.0% of editors, 58.3% of experts, and 49.0% of users, Teyana Taylor, winner of the Critics Choice and Golden Globe, close behind with the support of 10.0% of editors, 19.4% of experts, and 27.7% of users, BAFTA winner Wunmi Mosaku on her tail as the pick of 10.0% of editors, 22.2% of experts, and 21.7% of users, with Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Elle Fanning far behind at 1.3% and 0.3% of users, respectively.* That's quite a change from late January, when Taylor led the Gold Derby odds. While I voted for Ariana Grande at the Saturn Awards, I expect Madigan to win tonight and am rooting for her to win on the 15th.
Follow over the jump for the nominees in three craft categories dominated by women.
Investors have known Saks was struggling for years— it’s now reached its breaking point. Late payments to vendors, a failed turnaround attempt, declining sales and a missed interest payment to bondholders for its Neiman Marcus acquisition ultimately led to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the start of 2026. CNBC’s Gabrielle Fonrouge breaks down how one of America’s most beloved department stores landed itself here. Watch the video to learn more.
Erik concentrated on the vendors and Amazon's objections to the bankruptcy, but glossed over any difficulties in securing debtor in possession financing. CNBC’s Gabrielle Fonrouge made it quite clear obtaining the line of credit was not easy, although it did happen.
Today, Sammi breaks down the unraveling of Saks Fifth Avenue — a luxury icon that survived wars, recessions, and cultural shifts, but couldn’t survive its own merger math. Through stalled vendor payments, junk-bond debt, leadership shake-ups, and a failed $2.7B Neiman Marcus merger, Saks entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy and set off a ripple effect far beyond Fifth Avenue. This isn’t a “department stores are dying” story — it’s a case study in how private equity, financial engineering, and legacy retail models collide. And why the belief that Saks was “too iconic to fail” turned out to be so wrong.
As I wrote about The Bay's failure, "If anything could kill something this venerable, private equity could" and "the owners, responding to incentives that are indifferent to the success of the business, just like they were indifferent to the cultural and historical significance of the company, were most at fault."
I'm glad I found Cohen's channel. I expect to use more of her videos in the future. I also expect to see videos about Saks Global's bankruptcy from Company Man and Bright Sun Films. When they upload them, I'll embed them. In the meantime, stay tuned for a post about the Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes won by KPop Demon Hunters.
As the world marks World AIDS Day, researchers note the four decades battling the disease have proven crucial in battling the COVID-19 pandemic. Kiet Do reports. (12/1/21)
I was expecting another take on CNBC explains how HIV research led to COVID-19 vaccines for World AIDS Day, a double pandemic update. Instead, I found out how experts applied public health lessons learned from the AIDS pandemic to COVID-19. That made the video worth watching. As a bonus, I probably have only one degree of separation from Dr. Sarah Ruddman and Dr. Marty Fenstersheib because the ex-girlfriend I most often mention here was working for the Santa Clara County Health Department last I checked, which was before the COVID-19 pandemic. They almost certainly know her and she would certainly know who they are. By the way, Dr. Fenstersheib's predictions about the disease persisting and people needing a booster shot for COVID-19 every year have proven to be true. We should listen to him.
Jennifer Lotito, President and Chief Operating Officer, (RED) joins CBS New York to discuss World AIDS Day, which is on December 1.
Lotito offered both facts and action, even if that action was shopping. People will be shopping today anyway, so they might as well do it for a good cause.
Monday will mark the 37th World AIDS Day, which was started in 1988 by the World Health Organization to raise awareness and understanding of the global AIDS pandemic.
I relate to Lynn Kid. She said that it's important that she not allow a disease control her and that she's way more than HIV. I feel the same about diabetes. It may "be a central organizing fact of my life," but it's not everything about me.
The nominees for Outstanding Drama Series are Andor, The Diplomat, The Last Of Us, Paradise, The Pitt, Severance, Slow Horses, The White Lotus.
Severance led not only this category, but all nominees with 27 nominations, six of which it won on Saturday. The White Lotus earned the second most nominations with 23, winning one on Saturday. The Last of Us had 16 nominations, winning one already, followed by Andor with 14, winning four over the weekend. The Pitt earned 13 nominations, winning two. Bringing up the rear were Slow Horses with five, Paradise with four, and The Diplomat with two. None of the last three earned a Creative Arts Emmy Award.
The prognosticators at Gold Derby have split on the likely winner, but agree that it's a two-show race between Severance and The Pitt with 60.0% of the editors, 41.7% of the experts, and 64.0% of the users selecting Severance, while half the experts, 40.0% of the editors, and 32.4% of the users think The Pitt will win. The remaining expert (8.3%) and 1.6% of users picked The Last of Us to place third in the odds. The White Lotus has the support of 1.1% of users, followed by Andor with 0.5%, Slow Horses with 0.4%, and both Paradise and The Diplomat with none.
Emmys Face-Off: Do voters follow their heart to 'The Pitt' or their head to 'Severance'? With final-round voting taking place from Aug. 18 to Aug. 27, four top awards experts are grilled about their latest predictions.
The experts as a whole may prefer The Pitt, but the experts in the video think Severance winning is more likely; it's better crafted. Also, its part of the electorate is less divided and electorates matter.
The nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series are Kathy Bates, Sharon Horgan, Britt Lower, Bella Ramsey, Keri Russell.
Kathy Bates, the only nomination for Matlock, leads with 83.3% of experts, 80.0% of editors, and 71.6% of users expecting her to win. Britt Lower sits in second with 20.0% of editors, 8.3% of experts, and 23.9% of users picking here. Bella Ramsey also has 8.3% of experts voting for her, but only 3.3% of users. Keri Russell has the support of 1.1% of users, while Sharon Horgan, Bads Sisters' sole nominee, only has 0.1%. Lower will only win in a Severance sweep, which the Gold Derby experts doubt will happen.
The nominees for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series are Sterling K. Brown, Gary Oldman, Pedro Pascal, Adam Scott, Noah Wyle.
Every editor, 92.3% of experts, and 82.0% of users want Noah Wylie, while 7.7% of experts and 15.2% of users selected Adam Scott. Pedro Pascal is a distant third with 2.3% of users, followed by Sterling K. Brown and Gary Oldman tied at 0.3%. I'm picking Wylie.
Carrie Coon currently leads as the choice of 60.0% of editors, 58.3% of experts, and 70.4% of users, but Gold Derby thinks she has competition, as 33.3% of experts, 30.0% of editors, and 13.4% of users chose Katherine LaNasa and 10.0% of editors, 8.3% of experts, and 12.8% picked Parker Posey — a three-way race! A sweep by Severance seems unlikely, as only 1.9% of users made an argument for Patricia Arquette. The users give the rest of the nominees less than a 1.0% chance with Aimee Lou Wood at 0.8%, Natasha Rothwell at 0.4%, and Julianne Nicholson, who has already won an Emmy for Hacks, at 0.3%. I enjoyed Parker Posey the most, but Carrie Coon displayed more range.
Gold Derby's odds-makers see a two-way contest for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, with Tramell Tillman taking 70.0% of editors, 50.0% of experts, and 53.1% of users while Walton Goggins is walking away with 50.0% of experts, 30.0% of editors, and 43.6% of users. That's quite a split! The rest of the field consists of Sam Rockwell with 1.2%, John Turturro and James Marsden tied at 0.7%, Jason Isaacs with 0.6%, and Zach Cherry at 0.1%. My wife and I watched all of The White Lotus, and we found Goggins compelling.
The experts at Gold Derby worried that two nominated episodes for both Severance and The Pitt would split the vote. It's certainly splitting theirs, as 75.0% of experts, 70.0% of editors, and 81.3% of users voted for the "Cold Harbor" episode of Severance while 10.0% of editors and 2.5% of users chose "Chikhai Bardo." Between the two entries, 80.0% of editors, 75.0% of experts, and 83.8% of users are supporing Severance. The Pitt suffers less from vote splitting, with 25.0% of experts, 20.0% of editors, and 12.3% of users picking "6:00 P.M." but only 0.8% of users selecting "7:00 A.M." The White Lotus is fourth among nominees but third among series with 1.4% of users, followed by Andor with 1.1% and Slow Horses with 0.4%.
Severance leads Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, which Gold Derby thinks is a three-way contest, supported by 90.0% of editors, 66.7% of experts, and 81.9% of users. The Pitt sits in second as the pick of 25.0% of experts and 10.9% of users, while this category may be Andor's best chance at an Emmy, as 10.0% of editors, 8.3% of experts, which might be the same person given the overlap between the two groups, and 2.9% of users anticipate its upsetting the two leaders. The rest of the field all have at least 1% support, with The White Lotus with 1.7%, a second episode of The Pitt at 1.6%, and Slow Horses at 1.0%. Vote splitting doesn't seem to be hurting The Pitt much.
I decided to resume my Emmy Awards series for today's Sunday entertainment feature with the nominees for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) and the other nominations. I begin with the program category at the Primetime Emmy Awards.
Outstanding Variety Special (Live)
The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar (Fox)
Follow over the jump for the rest of the nominations for SNL50: The Anniversary Special, SNL50: The Homecoming Concert, and their competitors at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
Claire’s has filed for its second bankruptcy in seven years. Despite attempts to modernize, the company has not been able to overcome challenges including stiff competition from players like Shein, Temu, and TikTok Shop and increased costs related to tariffs. Watch the video to learn about the rise and fall of long-time American mall favorite Claire’s.
Competition with Shein, Temu, and TikTok Shop and tariffs — the first formed a major reason behind Forever 21filing for bankruptcy and closing all U.S. stores while the second contributed to Joann and At Home filing for bankruptcy. They may have been the first chains that blamed those factors, but they won't be the last. Of course, private equity played a part in the story, but CNBC didn't identify them as the cause of the debt Claire's couldn't pay. I may have to wait until Company Man or Bright Sun Films cover the chain to confirm that. Retail Archaeology? Erik examined the first bankruptcy seven years ago. I'll get to that.
As for what the future holds, the following graphic shows that Claire's is in bad company.
I already mentioned Joann and Forever 21. Add in PartyCity, Rite Aid, Tuesday Morning, Rue21, and Z Gallerie, and the list becomes a who's who of chains that no longer have physical locations in the U.S. or, in the case of Rite Aid, will soon close them. At least David's Bridal and True Religion Apparel still have stores open, but 20% odds are not good.
In this episode we take a look at Claire's, a retailer that operates in 95% of malls in the United States. In March of 2018 Claire's filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
That was fun, if not all that informative. Still, better late than never.
I expect to see more about Claire's from the usual sources. When I do, I'll post it here. In the meantime, stay tuned for the next installment about EmmyAwardsnominees.
Directed by Emmy-winning writer and filmmaker Nic Stacey, Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy pulls back the curtain on the world’s top brands, exposing the hidden tactics and covert strategies used to keep all of us locked in an endless cycle of buying—no matter the cost.
I've found yet another documentary I can recommend to my students. I can see applications of three of Commoner's Laws: "Everything must go somewhere (There is no away)," "There is no free lunch," and "Everything is connected to everything else." "Nature knows best?" Sorry, no. Still, welcome to blogging as professional development. That will turn out to be a major theme of today's post.
Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy is the only nominee in this category with a second nomination, in this case for Graphic Design – Documentary, and the outstanding animation and special effects are all over this trailer. Also, other outlets have been paying attention to this documentary. YouTube's recommendation algorithm is showing me videos by CNN, CBS News, WGN News, and KCAL, and that's before I search for news reports on it. The TV news people are certainly aware of this nominee, and I'm taking that as a factor in favor of it winning. Remember, electorates matter and television journalists are part of the electorate for these awards. Between that and the 2,051,802 views plus 1,695 comments on the trailer, I'm considering Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy to be the favorite.
The first nominee in alphabetical order with only one nomination for Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary is Bitconned | Official Trailer | Netflix.
Ray Trapani had always wanted to be a criminal, even as a young boy. In 2017, amidst the economic frenzy of the Bitcoin boom, there was no better place for scammers than cryptocurrency. So when Ray's friend approached him with the idea of creating a debit card for crypto, Trapani jumped at the chance. There was only one problem: he had no idea how to do that. But thanks to fake LinkedIn profiles, paid celebrity endorsements, and the online community’s insatiable desire to "get rich quick," Centra Tech was soon raking in millions of dollars a day. Was it real? No. But did it work? Maybe. In this fast-paced, debaucherous documentary from director Bryan Storkel (Producer of The Legend of Cocaine Island + Director of The Pez Outlaw), Ray himself guides viewers through the ups and downs of his dramatic journey, alongside his family, former friends, and the journalist who exposed Centra Tech as the first high-profile fraud case of the crypto era.
This reminds me of McMillion$, an examination of an elaborate scam and the scammers behind it. It also shows the fine line between business and the economy on one side and crime and justice on the other. I'm not surprised the two intersected at cryptocurrency.
The story of the iconic trailblazer known by her initials DVF worldwide. Child of a Holocaust survivor, Princess by marriage, and founder of a fashion brand. Featuring interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Marc Jacobs, Hillary Rodham Clinton and more. Watch Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge on Hulu!
This looks fun and inspiring and is about glamorous and famous people. Those qualities would give it a leg up at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, where the voters would look at Diane von Furstenberg and say "she's one of us." I'm not sure it will have the same effect on the journalists and documentarians here. Again, electorates matter.
#MoviePassMovieCrash goes behind the scenes to reveal the meteoric rise and stranger-than-fiction implosion of the theatrical movie subscription app. The @HBO Original Documentary premieres May 29 on @StreamOnMax.
If MoviePass were a retail company with brick-and-mortar locations, it would be a good subject for a Retail Apocalypse entry. It still makes for an engaging story of failure snatched from the jaws of success.
Liberty City, Miami, was home to one of the oldest segregated public housing projects in the U.S. Now with rising sea levels, the neighborhood’s higher ground has become something else: real estate gold. Wealthy property owners push inland to higher ground, creating a speculators’ market in the historically Black neighborhood previously ignored by developers and policy-makers alike.
Welcome to climate gentrification, which is having its strongest effect in Miami. This is another documentary I can recommend to my students for extra credit. Again, welcome to blogging as professional development.
Follow over the jump to see the trailers for the nominees competing against Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy for Outstanding Graphic Design – Documentary, a category I haven't covered until now.
First-time host Walton Goggins talks about his character in The White Lotus and becoming a sex symbol in his 50s before dancing with his mom for Mother's Day.
That was fun, sweet, and short. I like all three!
Follow over the jump for Weekend Update and selected skits.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week’s biggest news, like Uber offering free rides for teens to prom.
So does the minting of Superman coins and medals, which has been in the works since last year. Hoover Cleveland deserves neither credit nor blame. That goes to Joe Biden.
Two Applebee's Barflies, Darlene and Duke (Bowen Yang, Sarah Sherman), stop by Weekend Update to discuss the recent string of casual dining restaurants declaring bankruptcies.
Americans are blithely trashing more clothes than ever. In less than 20 years, the volume of clothing Americans toss each year has doubled from 7 million to 14 million tons, or an astounding 80 pounds per person. The EPA estimates that diverting all of those often-toxic trashed textiles into a recycling program would be the environmental equivalent of taking 7.3 million cars and their carbon dioxide emissions off the road.
Yikes! On the one hand, replacing Forever 21 with a clothing outlet that produces more sustainable clothing would be an improvement. On the other, that's not likely to happen. Instead, until Americans, especially young women, change their fashion tastes, they will just buy fast fashion online and more malls will be stuck with empty anchors and other stores, creating more dead mall[s]. Sigh.
I have become more opposed to fast fashion and Americans have apparently accelerated their acquisition of cheap clothing, a trend being pushed by new chains I hadn't even heard of then, Shein and Temu, and haven't mentioned until now, through a social media platform, TikTok, I wouldn't mention until 2020. Then, I was concerned about TikTok's capacity to monitor users on behalf of China and its ability to misinform, which are why I don't use it, despite its promotion of dance, a phenomenon I can watch on YouTube shorts, thank you very much. I didn't think enough about it as an advertising medium affecting Americans' shopping habits beyond convincing young people to shop local. Now I am. That's another reason to be suspicious of the platform.
That's it for Forever 21 until either or both Company Man and Bright Sun Films produce a video about its second bankruptcy. Stay tuned for another post worth sharing in April next.
Forever 21 was once the premier shopping destination for teens who wanted cheap and fashionable clothing. But now, the fast fashion pioneer is filing for its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy. After being bought out by licensing firm Authentic Brands Group and real-estate companies Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners, Forever 21 struggled against Asian e-commerce powerhouses like Shein and Temu.
WSJ breaks down how its own market toppled the fast fashion giant.
The Wall Street Journal covered all of these, then added competition with Shein and Temu. As I wrote just before Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy the first time, "until Americans, especially young women, change their fashion tastes, they will just buy fast fashion online..." That happened. The best I can say is that Amazon isn't to blame this time.
Forever 21, known for trendy fast fashion pieces, has filed for bankruptcy. The final sales in its stores are offering steep discounts as the company liquidates its assets. As NBC News’ Brian Cheung reports, in part the company cites pressure from online Chinese retailers for its demise.
The consumer sales figures remind me that I should go on recession watch again. If the U.S. does go into recession this year, it won't be because of internal economic forces, but because of government interference, which normally tries to cushion against economic downturns. Biden piloted the U.S. economy to a soft landing, then Hoover Cleveland tries to crash the plane anyway!
Asit Sharma, The Motley Fool senior analyst, discusses the downfall of Forever 21.
Neither Company Man Mike nor The Wall Street Journal mentioned the effects of the pandemic on consumer behavior as a cause of Forever 21's travails, so Asit Sharma added another factor to its failure.
That concludes today's tale of the Retail Apocalypse. Stay tuned for the Vernal Equinox on the last day of the blogging year.
I know I wrote that I would "switch from topical posts to evergreen and holiday entries until the end of the month," but I can't resist the highlights of last night's Saturday Night Live, which will still be good to share this coming Saturday. Like the show, I begin with Founding Fathers Cold Open.
The Founding Fathers (Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Sarah Sherman, Michael Longfellow, Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim) get interrupted by President Trump (James Austin Johnson) while signing the Declaration of Independence.
Tentpoles Dune: Part Two, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Deadpool & Wolverine and TV series including Fallout and Agatha All Along lead nominations for the 52nd Saturn Awards, which recognize the year’s best genre movies and series.
The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films published that excerpt from Deadline yesterday after announcing the nominations on their main website Wednesday, where they also declared voting had opened and would close December 15th. Time to get cracking on covering these awards, beginning with Best Science Fiction Film!
Best Science Fiction Film: Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Megalopolis
Venom: The Last Dance
As the Deadline excerpt above stated and I double-checked, Dune: Part Two earned 14 nominations to lead not only science fiction films, but all movie nominees. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ranked second with eight nominations, followed by The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes with five, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga with three, and Megalopolis and Venom: The Last Dance with one each. Those totals alone make Dune: Part Two the favorite to win this category. I already penciled this movie in as my vote in this category and its lead in nominations just made me ink it in.
Before I go on to the rest of Dune: Part Two's nominations, I'm making an observation about the inclusion of Venom: The Last Dance among science fiction film nominees. It's a comic-book/superhero movie, and would usually have been in that category. This year, there is no Best Superhero Film category. If it still existed, it would probably have had a full field of six nominees, Deadpool & Wolverine, Venom: The Last Dance, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Joker: Folie à Deux, Madame Web, and The Marvels, so lack of superhero films is not the issue; lack of quality superhero films is. In addition to the two Saturn Awards nominees, two were good or at least O.K. films with so-so box office numbers, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and The Marvels, and two are likely Razzie nominees, Joker: Folie à Deux and Madame Web. I'm pretty sure both of them will be nominated for Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel and one of them will almost certainly win. I suspect the Saturn Awards didn't want to recognize such mediocrity during a down year for superhero films. That didn't stop them from nominating other potential Razzie nominees, such as Megalopolis, but the absence of a superhero movie category stands out.
Follow over the jump for the rest of the nominations for Dune: Part Two and the other science fiction films.
Bret Baier (Alec Baldwin) welcomes Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) for an interview on Fox News.
Also starring James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump, Ego Nwodim as the Fox News host of the women's town hall, Dana Carvey as Joe Biden, and Marcello Hernandez as the audience member at the Univision town hall. This sketch captured both Baier's obnoxious interviewing tactics and the contrast between Kamala Harris's seriousness and convictedcriminalDonald Trump's silliness, which featured prominently in Weekend Update: Trump Dances for 40 Minutes Straight at Campaign Rally.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Kamala Harris calling out Donald Trump for gaslighting Americans about January 6.
Trump telling his rally audience "Get that fat pig off the couch. Tell him to vote for Trump. He's going to save our country," reminds me of what I wrote in George Santos sues Jimmy Kimmel and Trump sells sneakers, that "he has long had a very bad case of 'L'État, c'est moi.' As far as he's concerned, he is the country." That's probably was why he called January 6, 2021 "a day of love." It was, for him, not for the country or anyone else. As for Trump working the fryer at McDonald's, I can say it's tougher than he thinks it is, because I worked in fast food while going to UCLA, first at Jack-in-the-Box, then at Wendy's. To repeat what I wrote in 'SNL' tries to turn a week of unfunny news into comedy and gets saved by Adam Driver and Olivia Rodrigo, "[he] should see what it's like from the other side of the counter!"
I told my readers to "Stay tuned for one last installment of Emmy nominees tomorrow for the Sunday entertainment feature" at the end of 'The Bear' leads comedy winners and nominees at the Emmy Awards, so I begin by noting that, unlike comedy and drama series, the nominee expected to dominate at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards did not come out of the 76th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards with the lead in awards. The big winner last Sunday was Ripley with three Emmy Awards so far, Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special, and Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Single Episode, as the image above shows. Baby Reindeer, which is favored to walk away with five Emmy Awards tonight, came in second with two statuettes for Outstanding Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and Outstanding Picture Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
Four limited series nominees earned one Emmy Award each. American Horror Story: Delicate acquired the award for Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Feud: Capote vs. The Swans swept off with Outstanding Period Costumes for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Carlos Rafael Rivera of Lessons in Chemistry came away with Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score). Masters of the Air flew away with Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Congratulations to all the winners!
Follow over the jump for celebrations of the Creative Arts winners for limited series and looks ahead to the limited series nominees contending at tonight's ceremony.
Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) holds a press conference outside of the Manhattan courthouse and introduces some of his supporters (Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow).
Two cicadas (Kenan Thompson, Marcello Hernández) stop by Weekend Update to discuss two separate groups of cicadas erupting from the soil this summer.
Would my readers believe I've never mentioned cicadas on this blog before today? I haven't and it's the kind of story I should have written about already. Thanks to SNL, I finally am.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news and make each other read jokes they've never seen to close out season 49.
I knew this would be an exercise in bad taste and I wasn't disappointed. Also, I think Colin got the worst of it. Sorry, Colin.
Follow over the jump for three more clips worth sharing more than Colin and Michael pranking each other with Michael winning.
Kenan Thompson, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Punkie Johnson, Mikey Day, Chloe Troast, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker, James Austin Johnson, Marcello Hernández, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, John Higgins, Ben Marshall, Martin Herlihy, Bowen Yang, and Colin Jost bring their mothers on the show.
Happy Throwback Thursday! I know I suggested "a serious look back at Trump's hush money trial so far" yesterday, but I couldn't resist examining the proceedings through comedy, just like lastweek. Laughter helps me digest the news better.
Seth takes a closer look at Donald Trump coming face to face with Stormy Daniels in his criminal trial while his top VP contender Kristi Noem is grilled about lying in her book.
Stormy Daniels testified about her one-night stand with Donald Trump, Stephen broke down his favorite looks from the Met Gala, and a Chinese zoo got caught trying to pass off dogs as pandas.
Unlike SNL, which made Kristi Noem a running joke in 'SNL' covers protests, Kristi Noem, and hush money trial with Dua Lipa doing double duty, Stephen couldn't bring himself to mention her in the video description, even though he included her media appearances in his monologue. Instead, he closed with two light topics, the Met Gala and the dogs as fake pandas. At least those dogs were cute and made even cuter by dying them like giant pandas.
Today the prosecution called Stormy Daniels to the stand in Trump’s hush money case, Jimmy was mentioned AGAIN in reference to an interview she did on our show, she revealed some details about her sexual encounter with Trump, after hearing the first half of her testimony he took to Truth social begging for a mistrial, after making a huge deal about missing his son Barron’s graduation - Donny is set to headline an event in Minnesota, Governor Kristi Noem is now distancing herself from her own autobiography after admitting to shooting her puppy and lying about meeting Kim Jong Un, the Met Gala took place in New York last night, and the monologue gets interrupted by a man named Von Schitzenpantz, who bares the same name that Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen came up with for him.
All of these clips have mentioned that there would be no description of genitalia, but Kimmel told his viewers where to look for one. This manipulated photo gives a hint.
Too bad it's fake. The real dress was plain royal blue without any orange mushrooms. Darn.
Jordan Klepper recaps his favorite Met Gala looks, Putin puts on his own night of dictator opulence at his inauguration, and Troy Iwata weighs in on the disturbingly dirty details of Stormy Daniels's testimony during Trump's criminal hush money trial.
At least The Daily Show didn't talk about Noem, her dog, and Kim Jong Un. That was getting painful.
You deserve better than Shein.
...
There are countless articles and videos breaking down the abysmal labor practices, horrifying environmental toll, and overall mountain of waste produced by the fast fashion industry. Activists and even just large swaths of the general public have been raising the alarm about this for well over a decade, but it hasn’t stopped the rise of some of the worst offenders in the industry. For example, the ultra-fast fashion brand Shein has skyrocketed in value over the past five years largely due to their marketing success on TikTok. A lot of us know that fast fashion is bad, but the only way companies like Shein still thrive is if we convince ourselves otherwise and hit “add to cart” anyway. So why do we do it?
The answer is that e-commerce has completely warped our view of what items should cost and how long they should last (this includes and extends to our obsession with Amazon and two-day shipping). We’re moving through trends at an unprecedented pace and it’s doomed to get worse if we don’t adjust our buying habits and learn to slow down. Consumers are being manipulated, but we can do better.
I made a pessimistic assessment five years ago that "as an environmentalist, I probably should be more opposed to fast fashion than I am" and predicted "until Americans, especially young women, change their fashion tastes, they will just buy fast fashion online..." I have become more opposed to fast fashion and Americans have apparently accelerated their acquisition of cheap clothing, a trend being pushed by new chains I hadn't even heard of then, Shein and Temu, and haven't mentioned until now, through a social media platform, TikTok, I wouldn't mention until 2020. Then, I was concerned about TikTok's capacity to monitor users on behalf of China and its ability to misinform, which are why I don't use it, despite its promotion of dance, a phenomenon I can watch on YouTube shorts, thank you very much. I didn't think enough about it as an advertising medium affecting Americans' shopping habits beyond convincing young people to shop local. Now I am. That's another reason to be suspicious of the platform.
That's it for today's more-or-less evergreen post for Earth Month (if TikTok actually is blocked in the U.S., I expect most of its users will migrate to YouTube shorts, including the shopping influencers, so the issues will just move to a new platform). Stay tuned for the return of more timely topics, like Donald Trump's trial in New York. I've been ignoring that and postponing my retrospective of the most read entries featuring late night talk show hosts. It's time to cover both. A topical Throwback Tuesday tomorrow!
