FanFare

"Slate’s voice never loses its capacity for strangeness, for finding it in the littlest, weirdest corners of its own psyche. It’s this mix of sweet and sadness, real stakes and dreamy prose, that gives this book its soft, sharp, and altogether overwhelming power. Like René Magritte crossed with Lana Del Rey, with strong notes of Patricia Lockwood. Like a carnival ride caught in a tornado, candy-colored shards of metal sparkling in the sky." - Teen Vogue
posted by The corpse in the library on Dec 6, 2019 - 3 comments

A collection of essays on Trump, misogyny, segregated public schools, Joan Rivers, South Park, and how to moderate an audio-gear-swap Facebook page, among many other topics.
posted by The corpse in the library on Dec 6, 2019 - 1 comment

So, last week....

• "Unfortunately, we must begin, again, with President Trump, two words that continue to sound unnatural together, like 'Walrus Porn,' or 'Tilda Swinton.'" Trump promises a crackdown on illegal immigrants, despite problems hiring ICE agents, and withdraws Obama-era guidelines for transgender students in school bathrooms.
• And Now: Some Random Thoughts From WCBS2 Meteorologist John Elliott
• Main Story: The Affordable Care Act (YouTube 19m), and Republicans trying to repeal it despite unexpected (to them) popular opposition. LWT examines what it is, problems with it, and Republican plans to fix it.
• And Now: WCBS2 Meteorologist John Elliott Drops Some Famous Names
• Finally, the Supreme Court. Republicans refused to hold a hearing for Obama's Supreme Court pick Merrick Garland for 11 months, so that they'd have the opportunity to have their guy Neil Gorsuch confirmed, a historic abberation. To reflect this, LWT's Dog Supreme Court is filling the seat, not with a dog, but by a choice of three lobsters, that they're asking viewers to vote for on their Twitter feed.

[more inside]
posted by JHarris on Feb 27, 2017 - 7 comments

Last Week Tonight S03E01 Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia dies at age 79. Chipotle restaurants face federal investigations over food safety. (LWT produced a small commercial for them.) Main story: Voting (YouTube 14m), and the increased obstacles put in place to make it harder for US citizens to vote in elections. And Now: Newscasters Using Entirely The Wrong Tone. New Zealand's Prime Minister Steven Joyce is smacked in the head by a thrown phallus and is thereafter nicknamed by the New Zealand Herald "Dildo Baggins." Joyce tweeted to send it the GIF to John Oliver to get it over with -- and so they put the image on a flag, and gave the flag to Peter Jackson to wave. And then things got weird.... Yes that's right: Last Week Tonight is back! [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Feb 15, 2016 - 22 comments

This week: Cuba is removed from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism. Nebraska becomes the 19th US state to abolish the death penalty. Ireland votes to legalize gay marriage by a 2-to-1 margin. And Now: Newscasters Finding The Fact That They Don't Know Words Hilarious. (Watch for the THUG LIFE joke.) The main story: FIFA is revisited as issues with corruption have resulted in successful criminal prosecution against FIFA officials in the United States. YouTube. (13m) The indictment, which Oliver recommends you read due to being "amazing," is here. (164p PDF) And Now: Bernie Sanders Asks Interviewers Questions. And finally, we look at Adolf Hitler's bizarre cachet in Thailand, where his image is used as a general mascot and cultural signifier. Who would be better than Hitler? Rip Taylor, who appears in a segment stating his case. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Jun 3, 2015 - 7 comments