On Entertainment...
-Listen, I love Aaron Tveit like he's one of the family (and if he's interested, he can meet me at a courthouse and literally become a member of my family, no questions asked), but I have to raise an eyebrow over his casting in Grease. I know the play has a history of hiring actors that are too old for the roles of high school students, but that's slightly different on Broadway where age has a fifty foot sight gap from actor to audience, and Tveit, while still gorgeous, doesn't look remotely 18. That being said, he's the only member of this train-wreck of a cast I actually enjoy and who can, you know, act. Honestly: Vanessa Hudges and (blech) Julianne Hough? I don't know that you could have picked two actresses that would make me want to see this movie less.
-Legendary actor Omar Sharif died yesterday at the age of 83. For those of you unfamiliar, you need a crash course in 1960's cinema, as he starred in three classics of the era: Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, and Funny Girl. While he continued working for decades after that (starring with everyone from Julie Andrews to Anthony Hopkins to Viggo Mortensen), these three films defined his career, as did his position as the first (and so far only) major Egyptian movie star. I will always love him best for his sole Oscar nominated-turn in Lawrence, a film I spent most of my senior year of college parcelling through for my honors thesis.
-It might be a stretch to call this entertainment, but it does connect to the Blackfish and SeaWorld controversy that has continued to have legs, so I am putting it here. However you classify it, you must investigate this article about the 103-year-old orca whale that was spotted off the Canadian coast. The orca's incredible longevity is a huge issue for SeaWorld because the company has long argued that we don't know how long whales generally live, but those in captivity rarely live past their twenties and those born in captivity average to only about 4.5 years of age. While whales don't usually live this long, female orcas in the wild have double the lifespan of those in captivity, and frequently travel with their families, which is something that they are not allowed in captivity. The reality of this situation has been clear for years, but SeaWorld needs to close down; their treatment of whales and other marine mammals has gone the way of cigarette commercials and asbestos, and it's time for their business model to reflect as such.
On Politics...
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| Gov. Charlie Crist (D-FL) |
-This article's a little older than I usually allow (I try to just have stuff from the past week), but it's such a fascinating read that I couldn't skip it. The quite long piece from Vox is about the possibility of Nuclear War, particularly in regard to Vladimir Putin's disdain for NATO, and how that possibility has grown over the past year, and what a World War III situation would look like for the world. The piece is fascinating in that it rarely sensationalizes (it stays very grounded), but doesn't broach the topic with tepidity, making it both utterly readable and incredibly terrifying, particularly when you compare the divergent opinions that the two major nuclear powers in the world have of the opposite country's leader.
-Politico had a fascinating look at the backlog of judicial appointments in the Senate right now. I find it truly staggering that this is the least amount of judges that will be approved since 1969 (a 46-year gap!). I get that the Senate is made up of Republican senators, and they have every right to not allow the president his appointments (advise and consent), but come on-at least advise here. Give them a no vote if that's what you want, but considering that two dozen courts have declared judicial emergencies based on the number of judges appointed, this is yet another crisis that is wholly preventable. America voted for Obama twice-it's been six years, get over it.
-In news that I have conflicted feelings regarding, former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is plotting yet another comeback bid. Crist, who famously ruined his career in 2010 by trying to make a play for the Senate when he could have won the governor's mansion with relative ease (and then been a serious presidential contender in 2012), and then failed to make a go of the Sunshine State's executive mansion in 2014 after switching parties, is apparently looking into a run for the U.S. House now that the 13th congressional district is likely to become more Democratic with the recent court decision mandating that Florida redraw their congressional maps. On the one hand it's hard to deny that Crist has kept a lot of goodwill in this district (which houses his home in St. Petersburg), but on the other hand I am so tired of Charlie Crist, who seems like a skilled retail politician who cannot sink the basket on Election Day, and wish that someone else would take up the mantle for the Democrats. It also proves how devastating that 2010 decision was; Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio are using the ultimate swing state as a presidential launching ground while Crist might make it into the House minority in 2017. Oh how the mighty...
Shameless Self-Promotion of the Week...
YouTube Video of the Week...
-We already talked about Shane Dawson's coming out video, so I'm going to go with this video fresh from the Oscars channel on YouTube of Rosie O'Donnell presenting the short film Oscars at the 1993 awards. I love this for a number of reasons-you have Whoopi (her first time hosting) and Rosie united decades before The View, you have Rosie in the midst of her brief period as a movie star (she references her soon to be major hit The Flintstones), and Nick Park in a gigantic green bowtie. Enjoy:
Just One More...
-CNN has been doing a fascinating look at manmade structures that are victim to decay across the world, and this is one of the more interesting ones, highlighting some of the world's most iconic sites that are in jeopardy of fading away.. While not all of them are resulting from climate change, enough of them are that you know my soapbox is nearby if you need a lecture.
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