Category: Entertainment

Bye, Felecia

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Meghan McCain has quit as a host of The View on short notice.

She was probably pushed: 

Meghan McCain, the lone conservative voice on ABC’s daily talk show “The View,” told viewers Thursday that she was leaving her co-host chair at the end of the season this month.

McCain said at the start of the New York-based program that she wants to stay in Washington, D.C., where she worked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I have this really wonderful life here that I ultimately feel like I didn’t want to leave,” McCain said.

McCain, who is married to conservative writer Ben Domenech, gave birth to a daughter, Liberty,[ed comment, WTF?] last fall. The couple have split their time between New York and Washington.

………

The Daily Mail, which first reported that McCain would exit, said the host had two years left on her contract with ABC.

(emphasis mine)

She announced it on very short notice. 

Pushed, with good reason.

This is an Outrage

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In an otherwise anodyne article about how modern super-hero animation is uniquely innovative and edgy, (This same article has  written at least once every 18 months or so since at least 1980) they release a bit of shocking news, that the producers of the Harley Quinn animated series were forced to delete a scene where Batman went down on Catwoman.

They though that it was the wrong image for a hero, which is complete crap.  Real heroes, and real men, lick pussy.*

My reaction upon hearing the news was, “Will No One Rid Me of these Turbulent Media Executives?”†

Seriously, the Harley Quinn series is profane, with “S” and “F” Bombs, sexual innuendo, violence, murders, and and theater people, how could they not have Batman NOT demonstrating is consideration to his true love’s‡ pleasure?

I am profoundly disappointed, and I want to see if there is a suppressed clip of this on the internet.  It could be the new butthole cut of cats:

“It’s incredibly gratifying and free to be using characters that are considered villains because you just have so much more leeway,” says Halpern. “A perfect example of that is in this third season of ‘Harley’ [when] we had a moment where Batman was going down on Catwoman. And DC was like, ‘You can’t do that. You absolutely cannot do that.’ They’re like, ‘Heroes don’t do that.’ So, we said, ‘Are you saying heroes are just selfish lovers?’ They were like, ‘No, it’s that we sell consumer toys for heroes. It’s hard to sell a toy if Batman is also going down on someone.’”

(In fairness to DC, both Halpern and Schumacker went on to say that the company has been remarkably supportive of their series and has allowed them to push the envelope numerous times. Still, it remains to be seen if Batman and Catwoman will be shown engaging in some bedroom antics in Season 3 or if it will simply be implied via cunning linguistics.)

I want the to see the caring and sharing lover cut of that Harly Quinn episode.

This is not The Onion, it’s Variety.

*Don’t hatge me because I made this joke. If you had thought of it, you would have too.

†It’s a reference to the conflict between Thomas à Becket and King Henry II of England. Read a history book.

‡Unless you think that his true love is Dick Grayson/Robin/Nightwing, but that is would take me down a rabbit hole that involve at least a dozen posts.

Thoughts and Prayers

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Ted Nugent has Covid.

Musician Ted Nugent has tested positive for coronavirus months after he said that the virus was “not a real pandemic”.

In his Christmas message shared on social media in December, Nugent called the worldwide crisis a “scammy pandemic” and said that people who wore masks were “sheep”.

On Monday (19 April), Nugent revealed on Facebook Live that he had caught Covid-19, admitting that “everybody” told him that he shouldn’t announce his diagnosis.

“I have had flu symptoms for the last 10 days and I thought I was dying, just a clusterf***,” he said.

“Today is the 19th of April 2021 during clusterf*** pandemic… I was tested positive today. I got the Chinese s***.”

Dumbass.

Quote of the Day

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Look, is the seller a vampire?

No, not that I’m aware of.

If he was, would you be allowed to say, or is there some kind of realtor privilege?

Well, in real estate we talk about the property, not the people, because of housing discrimination.

Oh, that’s a good point. I don’t know if vampires are a protected class.

I’ve learned in fair housing seminar after fair housing seminar, you do not talk about people. You want me to tell you how many square feet or how long the driveway or what it looks like inside, no problem.

—Slate, interviewing a realtor trying to sell a vampire-goth themed house in Baltimore.

The listing is linked to in the article, and it’s a trip.

Comedy Central Goes Full “Unblackening”

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They just canceled Larry Wilmore’s show:

For almost a decade, the combination of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert made Comedy Central destination viewing for fans of late-night comedy and barbed political commentary.

But over the last 12 months, the post-Stewart and post-Colbert era has not been as easy for the network.

On Monday, Comedy Central announced that it was canceling “The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore” because of falling ratings and a distinct lack of buzz.

The final episode of Mr. Wilmore’s 11:30 p.m. show — the slot formerly occupied by Mr. Colbert before he left for CBS — will be Thursday.

Kent Alterman, Comedy Central’s president, said he informed Mr. Wilmore of the news late last week. The move, Mr. Alterman said in an interview, was made for a simple reason: The show “hasn’t resonated.”

“Even though we’ve given it a year and a half, we’ve been hoping against hope that it would start to click with our audience, but it hasn’t happened, and we haven’t seen evidence of it happening,” Mr. Alterman said.

The awkward timing of the cancellation, just 12 weeks before the presidential election, ultimately came down to a contract, Mr. Alterman said. Mr. Wilmore’s deal, along with those of several of the show’s other staff members, was set to expire in a few weeks and the network had to decide now whether to renew or cancel.
Continue reading the main story

For the time being, Comedy Central’s 12 a.m. show, “@midnight,” will replace “The Nightly Show” at 11:30 p.m. “The Daily Show” with Trevor Noah remains at 11 p.m. Mr. Alterman said he hoped to name a full-time replacement for “The Nightly Show” sometime next year.

………

“The Nightly Show” has been known for a signature segment, “Keep It 100,” (slang for telling the truth, no matter the consequences) and for Mr. Wilmore’s often stinging commentary on race and this year’s election. (He called the election to find Barack Obama’s successor “The Unblackening.”) Though the late-show genre remains heavy on easygoing laughter, any one episode of “The Nightly Show” could occasionally go for prolonged stretches without a single joke, something that intrigued some critics but failed to attract a broader audience.

“I’m really grateful to Comedy Central, Jon Stewart and our fans to have had this opportunity,” Mr. Wilmore said in a statement. “But I’m also saddened and surprised we won’t be covering this crazy election or ‘The Unblackening’ as we’ve coined it. And keeping it 100, I guess I hadn’t counted on ‘The Unblackening’ happening to my time slot as well.”

It wasn’t getting the demographic that the network wanted, White Bros, because it attempted a meaningful dialogue on race, which is about as welcome by that demo as a turd in a punch bowl.

I’m bummed.

A Bit of Excitement Today

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Walking to work from the Metro, there was a veritable fleet of trucks parked around the Hippodrome theater.
It turns out that they were filming some scenes from the Kevin Spacey series House of Cards.
They were setting up when I came into work, and shutting down when I was on my way home.

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Another Failure as a Parent

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Charlie shared a quote he saw on the internet.

He thought that it was brilliant, but he had no clue where it came from:

CB: You see, Baldrick, in order to prevent war two great super-armies developed. Us, the Russians and the French on one side, Germany and Austro-Hungary on the other. The idea being that each army would act as the other’s deterrent. That way, there could never be a war.

PB: Except, this is sort of a war, isn’t it?

CB: That’s right. There was one tiny flaw in the plan.

LG: O, what was that?

CB: It was bollocks.

I agreed that it was brilliant, and it seemed a bit fmailiar.

I asked it what it was from, and he looked down said, “Something called Blackadder?”

My kids have never seen any of the Blackadder series.

I have failed as a parent.

Asshole of the Day

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The Columbia Broadcast System:

For “Star Trek” fans it was like finding a lost Shakespeare play — only to have it snatched away by the playwright’s heirs.

Last fall an unused script for the cult 1960s television show turned up after being forgotten for years. Its author, the science-fiction writer Norman Spinrad, announced that it would become an episode of a popular Web series, “Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II,” which features amateur actors in the classic roles of Capt. James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock and other crew members of the starship Enterprise.

But then another player stepped in: CBS, which said it owned the script and blocked a planned Web production of it. Trekkies were appalled. “These executives should be phasered on heavy stun,” said Harmon Fields of Manhattan, who called himself “a ‘Star Trek’ fan of galactic proportions.”

………

The story begins in 1967, after Mr. Spinrad wrote an acclaimed episode of the original series, “The Doomsday Machine.” “I did ‘The Doomsday Machine’ fast,” Mr. Spinrad, 71, said by phone from his home in Greenwich Village, “and then they said: ‘We’re in a hole. Can you write something in four days?’ ”

The result was “He Walked Among Us,” which the producers envisioned as a dramatic vehicle for the comedian Milton Berle. His character is a well-meaning but messianic sociologist whose conduct threatens to destroy the planet Jugal. The crew of the Enterprise must remove him without disrupting the normal development of the culture.

………

Mr. Spinrad soon donated his sole copy of “He Walked Among Us” and other papers to California State University, Fullerton. With several other drafts of the script, it lay in the archives for decades. Sharon Perry, the university’s archivist and special collections librarian, said she had received only one inquiry about “He Walked Among Us” in her 27 years there.

But in October, at the annual New York City Collectible Paperback and Pulp Fiction Expo, a man seeking Mr. Spinrad’s autograph showed up with a copy of the script, which he said he found at another convention. A few months later Mr. Spinrad began selling the script on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com, and the producers of “Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II” learned of it.

Based in Ticonderoga, N.Y., “Phase II” is one of numerous fan-generated “Star Trek” Internet series, this one named for “Star Trek Phase II,” Mr. Roddenberry’s failed 1977 attempt to revive his creation for television. This Web series is distinguished by its fidelity to the original’s sets, costumes, props, music and other elements, as well as appearances by some original cast members and new stories by writers like Ms. Fontana.

Over the years CBS gained the television, online and merchandising rights to “Star Trek.” But because the “Phase II” cast and crew make no money from their work, the network usually allows them to indulge their hobby.

Around the time Mr. Spinrad offered “He Walked Among Us” online (confusingly he published an unrelated novel with the same title in 2010) he arranged with the “Phase II” senior executive producer, James Cawley, who also portrays Captain Kirk, to film it. The writer said he was “blown away” by the series and planned to direct the episode himself next fall.

But this month, Mr. Cawley said, CBS asked him in an e-mail to cease and desist. CBS also contacted Mr. Spinrad, who withdrew “He Walked Among Us” from the Internet.

The network said it was now “considering opportunities to offer licensed copies of the work.”

F%$# CBS.

Without lube.

Ricky Gervais Is a National Treasure, I’m Just Not Sure Which Country

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Withess this exchange with Mel Gibson at the Golden Globe Awards:

Ricky Gervais keeps pushing. Joking about what a loon Mel Gibson is hardly rare in Hollywood circles, but Gervais decided to do it just as he was introducing him.

“A few years ago I made a joke about Mel Gibson getting a bit drunk and saying a few unsavory things,” Gervais said. “We’ve all done it. I wasn’t judging him, but now I find myself in the awkward position to introduce him again. Listen I’m sure its embarrassing for both of us and I blame NBC for this terrible situation, Mel blames … well we know who Mel blames.” That’s right, Gervais was clearly calling out Gibson’s history of anti-semitism.

“Listen, I still feel bad about it,” Gervais continued. “Mel’s forgotten all about it. That’s what drinking does. I want to say something nice about Mel before he comes out: I’d rather have a drink with him in his hotel tonight than Bill Cosby.”

When Gibson came out, it wasn’t clear if the two were going to embrace or start throwing punches.

“I love seeing Ricky every three years because it reminds me to get a colonoscopy,” Gibson offered.

One reason I don’t watch awards shows is because 95% of the time they are boring as sh%$ to me.

The other 5% of the time, I see evidence of how they are wittier than I will ever be, and it’s depressing.

Tervor Noah’s Debut

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I watched his debut as host of The Daily Show, and it was a real stem winder.

I am seriously impressed.

It was funny, he made some fun of himself, and he was a bit bluer than John Stewart.

Obviously, this show was the product of many weeks of prep, so I expect some hiccoughs as they go from debut to routine, but it is a very good start.

I will note that he has not yet made my list of People I Do Not Want to Piss Off yet though.

Because We Know that Eliminating Human Physical Contact Improves the Development of Children

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Out on Mercer Island, Washington, the school district has banned the game of tag as a sweeping ban of all forms of physical contact between students:

Webster’s defines “tag” as “a game in which the player who is it chases others and tries to touch one of them who then becomes it.” Wikipedia explains that the game, also known in Britain as “it, tip you’re it” is “a playground game that involves one or more players chasing other players in an attempt to ‘tag’ or touch them, usually with their hands.”

So is the game of “tag” still “tag” if tagging is banned?

That is the question for the Mercer County School District in Washington state and for some unhappy parents.

It all started with a social media report earlier this week when a group of parents, responding to what they had heard was a ban on the game of tag in elementary schools, formed a group called “Support ‘tag’ at Recess.”

It was their impression that there was indeed a ban and the word soon spread to the news media.

………

A spokesman for the school district seemed to reinforce the impression with a statement:

“The Mercer Island School District and school teams have recently revisited expectations for student behavior to address student safety. This means while at play, especially during recess and unstructured time, students are expected to keep their hands to themselves. The rationale behind this is to ensure the physical and emotional safety of all students.

“School staffs are working with students in the classroom to ensure that there are many alternative games available at recess and during unsupervised play, so that our kids can still have fun, be with their friends, move their bodies and give their brains a break.”

“Good grief, our kids need some unstructured playtime,” mom Kelsey Joyce told the TV station. “It’s a game that practically everyone has played – but if you go to public school on Mercer Island, keep your hands to yourself.

“I totally survived tag,” said Joyce. “I even survived red rover, believe it or not.”

More significantly, the school board ignored the fact that physical touching is an necessity, particularly for developing children.

The reason that children play touching games is because children need touching.

This is the Best Job Ever!!!!

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If you love cats, and you’ve considered running away to join the circus, then the fact that a Cat Circus Looking for a Tour Assistant is like ……… well ……… catnip:

Has your dream always been to run away with a cat circus? Then here’s the job for you! Samantha Martin and the Acro-Cats are looking for a tour assistant to travel cross-country with a troupe of trained cats (plus a groundhog, a chicken and a few rats) as they purr-form at venues in cities across the United States.

Job Requirements:

1. Animal care experience – Daily, weekly and monthly cat care duties – including but not limited to general and advanced cleaning and care/welfare of animals and their living environment.

2. Out-going personality, a keen sense of humor, the ability to roll with the punches, a flexible schedule, a high comfort level engaging with crowds of cat lovers, open to new experiences, lots of fun and craziness. We travel in a tour bus and share RV/hotel rooms.

3. Physically fit – able to lift and transport up to 50 lbs of show props and animal carriers from tour bus to stage and back.

4. Theater experience a plus – purr-form front and back of house duties, stage management, operate the light and sound, and help on stage with animals and prop placement.

5. Work with volunteers – wrangle and train volunteers who help with the shows.

Pay varies by show and includes per diem. No cat allergies. MUST LOVE CATS!
Serious applicants only. This job is a LOT of work and time on the road, but also the opportunity of a lifetime.

BTW, it appears that this is on the level, as you can see at their web site, which puts the lie to that old cliche “As difficult as herding cats.”

Au Revoir, Mr. Stewart

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I just saw his final show as host as The Daily Show.

I think that it did a decent job of balancing between acknowledging the history, and memories, and not being a downer.

Spoiler:  Springsteen played at the end.

It is the end of an era.

I’m sure that I’ll get used to Trevor Noah in a few months.