2020
Marie Dressler was the biggest female star of American movies in 1933. She wasn’t a sex symbol like Jean Harlow or Marlene Dietrich. Dressler was homely, overweight, in her 60s – and moviegoers adored her.
The public loved nothing better than to see their Marie play a drunk or a dowager and steal every scene from the glamour girls less than half her age. Dressler had been down and out for most of the 1920s. That she became a star at age 60 was an achievement that told Depression-battered audiences it was never too late.
The Ukraine was part of a broad pattern of behavior that makes Trump manifestly unfit to be President. Why didn’t Congress go after all of it rather than just one, very narrow incident?
On Impeachment: A Daily Podcast with Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and host Brian Lehrer.
Animal rights activists say it’s cruel to keep elephants in captivity. [San Diego News Fix]
Ezra Klein: America is a better country today than it has ever been: More inclusive and more prosperous. There has been no better time to be alive and be American. But the trend is going in the wrong direction. Things are not getting better. They’re declining rapidly.
Acquitted [Today, Explained]
Gilbert Gottfried and Frank Sontopadre interview the delightful Ken Berry, star of “F Troop” and “Mama’s Family.” Berry discusses working alongside George Burns, Don Rickles, and Carol Burnett, as well as a brief variety series he did in 1972, “The Wow Show,” featuring then unknown Steve Martin, Teri Garr, and Cheryl Ladd, then known as Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor. I was 11 when “The Wow Show” aired, and I remember I loved it.
Berry also avoids answering whether Forrest Tucker and Milton Berle, respectively co-star and guest star of “F Troop,” were really massively hung.
I love this podcast. I’ve already listened to about a dozen episodes and I’ve got about 80 queued up.
Ken Berry [Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast!]
PETA claims victory after SeaWorld says no to trainers riding atop dolphins [San Diego Union- Tribune]
PETA launched a campaign in 2019 to pressure SeaWorld parks to ban “circus-style” behaviors where trainers stand atop the dolphins’ snouts during park performances.
How will coronavirus end? [Today, Explained]
Youtube: Charlie bit me.
Some days you’re Charlie. Other days you’re Charlie’s brother.
A brief history of YouTube’s codependent relationship with content creators, after Google disclosed, for the first time, how much revenue YouTube generates.
Nat Eliason: How to take notes on what you’re reading.
I never did highlights or took book notes in school. I just did the reading (or didn’t – I was a slacker student), crammed everything into my brain and hoped it stuck there.
Likewise, I tried to highlight text, but I didn’t really see the point. I ended up highlighting more than half the book … or nothing.
Eliason proposes a simple rule: Only highlight passages that give you an idea. Then make a note of that idea. What does the passage make you think of? If the passage simply conveys information or opinion, and doesn’t spark further thought, just read it and move on.
And here’s a tool for note-taking, for those of us who read electronically: Readwise archives your ebook and article highlights from Kindle, Instapaper and iBooks.
Candidates don’t matter much. What matters is getting your voters to come out and vote against the other party.
Yep.
An Unsettling New Theory: There Is No Swing Voter [David Freedlander/Politico]
Not a lot: What $250,000 buys in NYC right now [Curbed NY]
I can think of a couple of theories why the Republicans might want to do this. But it’s weird:
GOP-affiliated group intervenes in Democratic primary for US Senate seat in North Carolina [CNN]
The first significant ad buy for state Sen. Erica Smith, a Democratic candidate for US Senate in North Carolina, appears to be backed by Republicans.
Faith and Power, a new political action committee with ties to Republicans, formally launched on January 29 and spent more than $1.9 million to influence the Democratic primary, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission and the Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group. The television and radio ads aims to boost Smith over Cal Cunningham, who has been endorsed by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and has raised significantly more money. “Who’s the Democrat for US Senate endorsed by progressives and unions? Erica Smith,” says the ad’s narrator. “Who’s got the courage to vote for ‘Medicare for All’? Erica Smith. The number one supporter of the Green New Deal? Erica Smith again.”
Via @iamjaco. Thanks!
Dave Winer says we need a candidate who a Republican who believes in the rule of law will vote for. Respectfully to Dave, but this is dead wrong. No Republican will vote for a Democrat in 2020. Trump has 90+% approval rating in his party.
The winning candidate in 2020 will be the one who gets their own party most excited. We don’t need a candidate who will appeal to Republicans. We need a candidate who gets out Democratic votes, and win even though Trump has his thumb on the scale, in the form of Republican election chicanery.
Like a wise man said: Given a choice between a fake Republican and the real article, the voters will choose the real thing every time.
RIP Issur Danielovitch, aka Kirk Douglas, 103 [nbcnews.com]
Why IBM Choosing Arvind Krishna Over Jim Whitehurst Was a Smooth Move [Christine Hall/ITPro Today]
I’m working on updating my resume today. I’ve decided to use the Pet Resume template in Google Docs.
In other news: Google Docs has a Pet Resume template.
Why does a pet need a resume? What are their skills? Minnie is a dynamic leader in eating poops from the ground.
Werner Herzog: ‘Piracy Has Been The Most Successful Form of Distribution Worldwide’ [Jenning’s Brown/Gizmodo]
He also shares thoughts on Twitter: “I have never seen a single tweet that I found interesting at all.”
And Pokémon Go: “When two persons in search of a pokémon clash at the corner of Sunset in San Vicente is there violence? Is there murder? … Physically, do they fight?… Do they bite each other’s hands? Do they punch each other?”