MEDIA: Taylor Lorenz doesn't do analytics or journalism (at least not in any meaningful manner)

There's a moment in episode seven of PEACOCK's LONG BRIGHT RIVER where the whole mood seems about to shift as the mini-series appears to be on the verge of toppling over into absurdity and parody.  We thought about that today as two YOUTUBERS came close to doing the same with one actually toppling over the cliff.

  

 

Taylor Lorenz and Keith Edwards are the two YOUTUBERS and while we have hope for one, we are washing our hands of the other.

We were unfamiliar with Taylor's work until, following her dismissal from THE WASHINGTON POST (no, it was not a mutual decision, nor was it Taylor's decision), she ended up doing a YOUTUBE program.  We'd never read her work -- not her writing at THE DAILY MAIL, THE DAILY BEAST, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE POST, etc etc.  

By the time she got to YOUTUBE, we knew her name but not really any of her writing or anything at all other than she was a 'tech' writer.  The only thing other than her name that we knew about Taylor was that she had been the target of gendered attacks.  Out of a sense of solidarity as a result of those attacks, we made a point to catch her YOUTUBE show and post videos of it at THE COMMON ILLS.  

We enjoyed the videos.  She was a good host and conversationalist.  Watching her discuss an issue with a  guest didn't feel like time wasted.  And maybe that's what she can move over to?  Doing interviews?  Because that's apparently all she has any skill for.

Today, she posted a very lousy YOUTUBE video.  How lousy?  We're scrapping the piece we wrote Sunday (it'll run in Friday's the gina & krista round-robin) about the media's attempt to create and sell a martyr so we can instead focus on Taylor and Keith.  And writing a new piece meant more time and more work especially since we knew Taylor was hiding something -- much more than being fired from THE POST -- which meant we had to work the phones.

But don't worry, Taylor, we're not writing a biography about you so most of your secrets will remain safe (including your true age)

There are certain words and phrases that always stick out when you pay attention.  In the video she posted today -- nearly 25 minutes of garbage entitled "The Rise and Fall of 'The Resistance'" -- Taylor made clear that she possessed no analytical skills and also strongly demonstrated why she's usually out of a job within two years.

To be clear, we were never part of The Resistance or 'The Resistance.'

We called out Donald Chump.  We didn't like Donald Chump.  We actually knew the Convicted Felon before he was president and didn't like him then.  It's why, when we wrote about THE APPRENTICE here, we didn't lie and pretend he was a great business person. Or even a good one.

We felt the never-ending 'reporting' of his Tweets was pointless and counter-productive. 

So to read the title, we thought, "This is going to be informative!"

And it was.  In all the wrong ways.

Taylor has no analytical skills but she does have a ton of generational grievances. 

We were told, repeatedly, in calls today that she's very proud of her targeting of baby boomers.  If there was ever a reason to note Tayor's age, this would actually be it.  But we'll be kind and just note that she also hates on Gen X.  

She actually hates on a lot of people.  

'The Resistance,' she uses air quotes, she wants you to know, were all grifters and they were never left-wing and that's why they've gone on over to the right where the money is now.

She has some examples.  BrooklynDad_Defiant, she explains, felt the judicial system was biased against fathers due to his own personal experience.  That's all it takes for her to insist he was a right-winger who changed to pretend he was something else.  

We're not Taylor Lorenz.  Meaning?  We're not ridiculous enough to be a gossip columnist whose beat is social media and confuses that with reality.  

Though not social media addicts, we were aware of Brooklyn Dad.  Call it coincidence, luck or some high power steering us to him with the belief we'd need to know this at some point in the future, he did not wait until after the election of 2016 to post about left issues.  

Why is she lying?  Or is Taylor just stupid?

And why is some father feeling, based on what he went through,, that the court system is biased towards mothers a sign of right-wingery?

We have no idea what he wrote that Taylor found so objectionable -- she had nearly 25 minutes and never offered one example -- but, reality, the courts are biased towards mothers and against fathers when it comes to child custody. 

That's because courts are biased towards norms, mores and, yes, stereotypes.  

The one pro-bias women have legally had has been that a mother is seen as a more important parent than a father and, no (Keith), we're not going to worry about prettying that up.  We're feminists, we've got a body of work behind us which predates Taylor's high school graduation.  We're not going to worry about saying something we believe -- especially not when we can back it up.

Taylor can't back up much of anything.

Time and again, we marveled at Taylor's ignorance.

For example?

Brooklyn Dad has written picture books about Donald Chump.  She can't offer her take on them but she does read a review from "Joe" on AMAZON.  We're familiar with review bombing (is she not?) so we immediately did due diligence and "Joe" didn't even buy the book ("verified purchase" would be by his  review if he had).  Joe's done nine reviews.  Only two are one-star reviews.  He hated Brooklyn Dad's book about Chump and, surprise, surprise?, he also hated John Lithgow's book about Chump.  The seven other reviews?  All verified purchases.

Who trained Taylor in what she thinks passes as journalism?

Let's stay with Joe one more minute to really show you how Taylor doesn't understand research.

She quoted a review attacking Brooklyn Dad's book.  A review by nobody "Joe" who is not a top AMAZON reviewer and has only done nine reviews and who is not even someone who bought Brooklyn Dad's book.  If she'd read Joe's review of John Lithgow's book she would have seen that Joe hates "woke" and if she'd read this review, she would have known he was a Trumper.  Do not let the title of the book fool you, it is not pro-Democrats -- it's by a DAILY WIRE writer and it's the kind of garbage the thankfully deceased Rush Limbaugh would've written (the DAILY WIRE writer guest hosted on Rush's program before Satan called Rush home).  It is a book that Donald promoted and so did Ben Shapiro. Click here and scroll down but, knowing that's too much work for Taylor to do, let's just copy and paste below:

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A great book for your reading enjoyment." -- Tweet from President Donald Trump

"Thorough." -- Ben Shapiro, New York Times bestselling author of Bullies

“Michael Knowles perfectly documents what's inside the minds of Democrats. A real page-turner!” -- Michelle Malkin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Sold Out

“I read it twice!” -- Dennis Prager, New York Times bestselling author of The Ten Commandments

“Brilliantly argued! You will not find a more enlightened defense of liberalism. Ever.” -- Jason Mattera, New York Times bestselling author of Obama Zombies

“Insightful, yet remarkably easy reading!” -- Guy Benson, bestselling author of End of Discussion

"The most efficient way to learn about the issues that Democrats really care about. This is a must read." -- Katie Pavlich, New York Times bestselling author of Assault and Flattery

"The reasons to vote for Democrats can be subtle and complex, but Knowles boils them down to their essence." -- Andrew Klavan, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Good Thing

Watching the segment and watching her co-sign on Joe's review of BrooklynDad, you have to ask if she's not the grifter and if she's not existing to help the right-wing?

It's over for boomers and Gen X, she wants you to know.  And Millennials are limping off to old age as well.

They don't understand things like RUMBLE!

That's their big problem, she insists smugly -- the kind of smugness that derives from knowing nothing.

At this point in time, social media is still just a form of communication.  That's all.

She may need to lie to justify her pathetic work.  Maybe she has to pretend it's so much more to avoid dealing with how empty and shallow her own life and interest are?

Instead of grasping that she's no investigative reporter -- just a gossip columnist folded into the travel and leisure section of a daily paper -- she wants you to know in this latest video that Democrats are over and they're evil.  They did this and they did that.  And only the out of touch -- unconnected people with actual lives -- fail to see this.  

And never will see it because they're aging out of 'the cool kids' generation.

The only one worried about aging out is the Taylor Lorenz who lies about her age.  

The rest of us, we're pretty much okay with aging especially, as they say, considering the alternative. 

But Taylor has no actual life which is why so much of her 'analysis' is devoted to Lindy Li.

Lindy Who?

She's a relative nobody who never had any real influence and whose name we didn't even know until after the 2024 election.  But to Taylor, she's one of our most prominent Americans.

Time and again, Taylor makes a point to shower publicly in her own stupidity.

Sorry to break it to her, but the "famous" boy yodeling at Wal-Mart?  Until today, we'd never heard of him.  Your goal posts are not ours.  You have wrongly decided your freakish fancies are mainstream and you ignorantly refuse to grasp that voters are not to be written off or mocked because they don't keep up with this year's MySpace.  

She's a sad, troubled and deeply stupid person.

Keith?

Keith Edwards is just troubled. 

We didn't realize how much until we were going to post videos at THE COMMON ILLS.  We realized that YOUTUBE was recommending a lot of garbage.  Again.  Not sure how that works but more garbage.  And while we were going through and doing "Do Not Recommend Channel Again," we realized that Keith wasn't showing on our YOUTUBE page.  Had he not done anything in the last 48 hours? No.  We went to his channel and he had new videos.  We were going to leave a note about this on his BLUESKY feed so we hopped over there only to discover he'd written a piece "How the Big Tent Became a Gated Community: Making people feel heard is more powerful than making them feel wrong."

Keith worries that were too quick to call out bad behavior.

Keith, take a breath and think on that.  When is it ever wrong to call out bad behavior?

Second, don't cite the CATO Institute  if you want Democrats to take you seriously.  

Third, what were you trying to say here:

Recently I watched the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, and it struck me how cool it was to be a Democrat. Madonna, Dr. Dre, TLC all embodied progressive causes. By contrast, Republicans – personified by the square, ancient (72 used to be old for a politician) Bob Dole – were the butt of every other joke. Today, it’s decidedly less cool to be a Democrat: Kamala Harris of course barely beat Donald Trump among 18-to-29-year-olds, and some of the most popular podcasts and Twitch streamers among young men are conservative.

WTliteralF do you think you wrote there?  

We have no idea how to disect that?  Should we go with an awards show isn't reality?  Should we go with all of Dr. Dre's legal issues and his terrorizing women?   

You feel like you can't express yourself.  Oh, life is so hard for you.  You are, right, the first person ever having to watch their words, right?  No one could ever know how you feel, right?  Certainly not Blacks in the south under Jim Crow.  No, it's just you, just now, for the first time ever.

It was so wrong, you write, when you got push back:

Amid the recent shakeup at MSNBC, I contested the idea that the personnel changes were due to the hosts’ races. To be clear, I knew exactly what I was getting into: I’ve been doing social media for a long time, and I have a good idea when something will go viral, and a good idea when something will touch off a war in the comments. So when I pointed out that several minority hosts were in effect receiving promotions amid Joy Reid's firing, I was not surprised to receive many responses like the following (emphasis added):

The responses told him he didn't know what he was talking about.  And they were right.

"Several minority hosts were in effect receiving promotions"? 

One of the women  'promoted' is Symone Sanders-Townsend.  She may appear Black to you; however, you are not the Black community.

She doesn't read Black.  Not to the Black community.  Joy did.  Now Symone reads Black to a White progressive like you because she's got dark skin and she is  DSA and so much more.  Her speech, her points of reference, all speak to the fact that she grew up in one of the least diverse cities in the country -- the White dominated Omaha, Nebraska. She went to a Catholic school and a more-than-majority White university.  She's also a liar who just announced she was leaving the Democratic Party to become an "independent."  She was DSA -- that's a Socialist organization.  It is not the Democratic Party.

The second female host?  Alicia Menendez.  Ann's dubbed her father Shady Menendez.  You now Bob The Indicted  Bob The Crook?  She's not Black.  (Cuban on her crooked dad's side, Anglo White on Mom's side). 

And then you have the third host, Michael Steele.  A Republican Black male is not representative of the average Black man although Republican Black males have traditionally been over represented by the media when it comes to guesting and hosting chat and chews.

So you had an authentic Black woman who read Black.  And now you've replaced her with three people -- two of whom have dark skin but neither of whom reads Black.  

And there's another point to this.

Most people don't realize how ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY was birthed.  TV GUIDE had been a dull little publication for years and years.  Then they got a little spunk and started writing truthful pieces.  Like the one where JOANIE LOVES CHACHI star Erin Moran learns she's not the star of the show but cries -- tears, cries actual tears -- as she insists she's more the star of this show than she was of HAPPY DAYS.  Too many truthful pieces like that led to firings and a whole group of writers free to start ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY.

Do you get the point, Keith?

It's a point Don Lemon got when he was demoted on CNN.  He lost his own show and was moved to mornings where he had to co-host with two others.

No, Keith, Joy hosting her own show is not the same as a three hosts hosting one show.

Keith writes:

I believe we learned the wrong lessons from the Obama years. Between 2008 and 2016, we elected a Black president, we as a country began to recognize the pernicious role of institutional racism, and gay people earned the right to get married. It became easy to believe the good guys had won the culture war, and now it was simply a matter of enforcing the new norms.

We didn't learn the wrong lesson but you clearly did as evidenced by your insisting that "gay people earned the right to get married."  Earned?  

Oh, well you're just so much more worthy than Jack Baker an Michael McConnell, right?  Those shifty and lazy men who applied for a marriage license in 1971. If only they'd taken the time to earn it, right?

We are feminists.  We are fully aware that women won the right to vote.  Won.  

Earned?  

Maybe your fear over the response people might have to what you say stems from your inability to use the appropriate words?

LONG BRIGHT RIVER is set in Philadelphia and stars Amanda Seyfried as a police officer Mickey Fitzpatrick who is struck by the deaths of several women and seeing that they're connected.  She is helped along the way by Nicholas Pinnock's Truman Dawes. SPOILER, as the series gets close to winding down, we're suddenly told that Truman's the killer.  He's fortunately not.  Had he been, the show would have truly jumped the shark and make us fear for the future of twist-and-turn TV thrillers.  At this point, they're still somewhat grounded in reality.  At this point.  And LONG BRIGHT RIVER is a series worth streaming.

As for YOUTUBE?

Keith isn't as bad as Taylor Lorenz -- though both could stand to do more research.  But what makes Taylor worse -- and now worth ignoring -- is her lack of common sense and her sheer stupidity.  In today's video, she wanted you to know that White women were grifters as well, fake members of 'The Resistance.'  She shows them marching on DC after Trump's 2017 inauguration.  And then they, per Taylor, got over it.  While a huge number of White women did vote for Donald Chump, the reality is that those who elected to go to DC in January 2017 to demonstrate against Chump did not, in 2024, get on board with him -- not in any serious or large number and you'd have to be an idiot to make that claim.

 

Truest statement of the week

Minority students — and especially low-income minority students — already face barriers to higher education. Explicitly enforcing those barriers to equal opportunity is an unforgivable step backwards.

This was never about combatting discrimination. The administration is intentionally removing pathways for marginalized students to attend school and do research — preying on minority students and targeting the programs that make our most vulnerable classmates feel at home at Harvard.

In the uncertainty following the initial Dear Colleague letter, students and clubs faced murky waters seemingly governed by vague, fickle orders from the White House. Such confusion does indisputable harm to education and student life — in a forest of threats and ultimatums, progressives tread carefully, which is exactly what our aggressors want.

-- "The Ed Department Is Coming For Diversity," HARVARD CRIMSON editorial board. 

A note to our readers

 Hey --

Monday.

Let's thank all who participated this edition which includes Dallas and the following:

The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess and Ava,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Trina of Trina's Kitchen, 

Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,
Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends,
Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts,
and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.

 

And what did we come up with?

• Truest statement of the week

We didn't get much done this weekend and were going to just do Ava and C.I.s media piece this week.  But, as we scrambled, we thought of somethings to include.  Ava and C.I. were the ones who picked this.

• Media: Some returns work better than others

Ava and C.I. cover a sitcom (HAPPY'S PLACE) and a train wreck (Donald Chump).

• Books (Isaiah, Ava and C.I.)

Isaiah discusses a book he reviewed with Ava and C.I.

• Book List

Books reviewed so far this year at community sites.

• You can learn a lot on BLUESKY

Repost of Marcia's post.

• 2025 passings

Some of this year's deaths we felt needed noting. 

• Last week's Senate moment you should have caught

Senator Elizabeth Warren. 

• Elections have consequences

It's amazing how they raged against Kamala Harris supporters and told them to go to hell but now the freaks expect Harris voters to help them.  

• Where's the accountability?

Know the enemy and hold the enemy accountable. 

• BLUESKY chuckle

Ha ha.

• Video of the week

MTN.

• BLUESKY reality

We actually did not intend to note this twice.  But it's good enough that we'll consider our mistake the universe telling us to note it more than once.

• This edition's playlist

This is what we listened to while writing tis edition.

Peace.

 

-- Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I.

Media: Some returns work better than others

HAPPY'S PLACE?  

Is there such a thing in the US these days?

On TV, there is.  NBC on Fridays has been where to find it, Reba McEntire's third attempt at a sitcom. First up was REBA which lasted six seasons and 127 episodes and still plays daily on CMT and other channels.  Next came MALIBU BEACH which only lasted one season and 18 episodes.  Now HAPPY'S PLACE and, with a second season renewal, it's already doing better than her second sitcom.

Reba and her character Bobbie were strong and steady from the start of this series but other elements took a bit and, around episode three, the show found its stride.  Teaming up Reba and Melissa Peterman again was a smart move.  Peterman played Barbara Jean on REBA and was a source of angst and tension on that show.  They've got a Christine and Barb chemistry (THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE) and that's not easy to create.  Joining them is Belissa Escobedo as Bobbie's half-sister Isabella, Reba's real life husband Rex Linn (the two previously worked together on the TV series BIG SKY), Pablo Castelblanco as accountant Steve and Tokala Black Elk as Takoda who works at the bar.

The bar was left to Bobbie and Isabella by their late father and it's HAPPY'S PLACE.

Maybe, in The Age of Chump, the only place Americans can find happiness -- or some approximation -- is at a bar?

Makes sense to us. 

In fact, we find that easier to grasp than the recently found ruins Mahendraparvata -- the capital of The Khmer Empire (802 to 1431).  

Mainly because putting up with Convicted Felon Donald Chump's attacks on our country and our way of life requires that you hit the hard stuff.  A lot.

For some that may be booze, for others it might be sweets.  Everyone's got their own thing and we're all in need of a fix.

It's really the only way to stomach all the lies.  

Such as?  How about JD Vance, Second Lady in Waiting, claiming he was chased over the weekend.  Chased?  Chased involves running.  Have people not seen Vance's ass?  He can't run with that thing.  And he didn't. Nor did have to.  As Vice President, he has a Secret Service detail with him where ever he goes.  But if Miss Sassy couldn't milk the drama with his own two hands, he'd have to use a breast pump.

Even more out of touch are the Republicans in Congress who were given the advice -- and so far have wrongly taken it -- to stop doing townhalls and encounters with their constituents.  

Their constituents are their bosses.  It's not smart to avoid them.  Avoidance makes it clear that you don't respect them, makes it clear that you aren't connected to them and most likely will make it clear to them that they shouldn't vote for you.

Infected with a toxic case of MAGA, the members of Congress believe this to be good advice.

Adam Gabbatt (GUARDIAN) reports:

After Roger Marshall, a senator from Kansas, was hounded out of his own town hall event last week, Republican party leaders had had enough. Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, and Richard Hudson, the chair of the GOP’s fundraising body, decided the embarrassment had to end, and they told Republicans to stop holding the public events.

But while that might save some Republican politicians from public humiliation, it could also deprive Americans of opportunities to interact with their elected officials, experts said, and prevent people from letting their representatives they are not happy with the increasingly divisive direction of the Trump administration.

“It’s certainly a unique view of representation that representatives should hear only from constituents who agree with them,” said Marjorie Hershey, professor emeritus of political science at Indiana University Bloomington.

“But it’s entirely in keeping with the recent direction of the Republican party: to become more and more extreme because they listen only to their far-right base.”

Johnson and Hudson’s edict came after several Republican town halls were interrupted in recent weeks. Scott Fitzgerald, a four-year congressman, faced an angry crowd at an event in West Bend, Wisconsin, in late February. Fitzgerald was repeatedly booed as he defended the role of Elon Musk, in particular.

Apparently misjudging his audience, Fitzgerald said Musk is “getting rid of the DEI”, to loud jeers, before receiving a similar reaction when he praised “the fraud and abuse that has been discovered” by the department of government efficiency.

A video from TMJ4 showed attendees carrying signs including “Presidents are not kings” and “No cuts to Medicaid”. Glenn Grothman, also from Wisconsin, received similar treatment at a town hall a couple of days later, being loudly booed as he claimed that “across the board [Trump] has done some very good things”, including birthright citizenship and – using the same phrasing as Fitzgerald – “getting rid of the DEI”.

Now maybe we overindulged -- or maybe having not been infected with MAGA, we're not suffering from swamp fever -- but we're having a really difficult time seeing how a member of Congress avoiding their constituents does anything but piss them off.  However, those suffering from the scourge of the West, insist that it won't and believe that avoiding the voters and the issues they raise will pacify the voters and make them forget.

Amnesia is the Donald Chump strategy when it comes to voters.  And he's convinced that, if everyone will stop talking about the high costs of eggs, people will stop noticing the huge increase in the cost of eggs and other groceries.  JD Wolf (MTN) explains:

As Americans continue to grapple with soaring grocery prices, Trump shared an article that downplays concerns over the rising cost of eggs. In a Truth Social post, Trump reposted an opinion piece by right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk, titled "Shut Up About Egg Prices — Trump Is Saving Consumers," which dismisses the outrage over the price hikes.

The article acknowledges that “a dozen currently costs around $7, up from just $2 in October,” but argues that inflation under Trump is not as bad as critics claim. Telling voters to shut up about high prices in the Trump economy may not be a winning strategy. 

Charlie Kirk, noted racist and evil doer, thinks ignoring inflation is "a winning strategy"?  That tracks. Mainly because Charlie Kirk is just stupid enough to believe that.  The brain's been warped by MAGA and he no longer remembers that his first act of activism was in high school when they went up on the price of a cookie and the hissy fit he threw.  If he only had a brain, he'd remember how angry that increased cost made him and grasped that trying to bottle that anger is not going to work -- not for him or his pin up and man crush Donald Chump.

It wouldn't for Charlie in high school and it's not going to work for Chump.  Prices do not just remain high, they've gotten higher and they are continuing to climb.  Not talking about inflation will not erase it from our minds.  Ed Mazza (HUFFINGTON POST) makes an important point:

However, Trump campaigned heavily on not just cutting prices, but doing so on his very first day in office. 

“I will immediately bring prices down starting on Day 1,” he said on Aug. 15, for example. “Starting the day I take the oath of office, I will rapidly drive prices down,” he promised later that some month. 

He backed away from that last month. 

He promised it.

There's another point that needs to be made there.  

It's true that many politicians break promises.  It's also true that those running for president often make very big promises and then fail to deliver.  But while you might cut slack for a first time nominee, Chump occupied the office of president from January 2017 through January 2021.  Meaning?  He was no starry eyed first timer.  He knew from experience what was possible and what was not.  He also knew what he had to say -- which lie to tell -- in order to garner votes.

He lied knowingly and willingly.  He got back into the White House and he no longer cares about the needs of the people.  

HAPPY'S PLACE finds Reba back on TV and she's a crowd pleaser, yes,  but, more than that, she's also a better actress now and can offer more than personality.  Chump?  He never had personality to coast on to begin with.  And he's got nothing to offer -- nothing that any sane person wants at any rate.

Books (Isaiah, Ava and C.I.)

 

 

As we did in 2021 and 2023 and 2024, we're attempting to again increase book coverage in the community. This go round, we're talking with  Isaiah about his review of  Chaz Gower's "STAN LEE LIED: YOUR HANDY GUIDE TO EVERY LIE IN THE ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS.".  You recommend it?

Isaiah: I do.  I recommend it for a number of reasons.  First, it's a fascinating book.  Gower gets very detailed and involved and you'll love the amount of information he presents.  Second, Stan Lee has stolen credit over and over from others so I recommend it because it sets the historical record straight.

And that's important.

Isaiah: It's very important.  The truth does matter.  That's what so many of us respond to in your writing.  And look at the impact -- "California Dreamin'" was the Mamas and the Papas biggest hits.  But it took you two pointing that out at THIRD for WIKIPEDIA and others to grasp it.

To be clear, for any late to the party, "Monday Monday" was a number one hit for one week.  "California Dreamin'" -- the group's first single -- peaked on different charts around the country at different times and never hit number one on the national weekly chart.  But it is the bigger hit because it made to number one on BILLBOARD's singles chart for 1966 -- the number one selling song of the entire year.  It sold two million more copies than "Monday Monday."  It is the band's biggest hit.  What was Stan Lee's biggest hit?

Isaiah: When MARVEL started reprinting older comics and he got to add his name to them as writer even though Jack Kirby wrote and drew his own comics.  People were credited in the original editions.  But when those 60s editions were reprinted a decade or more later?  Suddenly, they had Stan Lee's name on it.

Why?

Isaiah: Because he was a glory hog who had no glory and because he was related to the owner.  And putting his name -- falsely -- on these books meant he and MARVEL could retain the intellectual rights.  He's just a liar.  And it's interesting how lies get started and who they're used against.  The book reminded me of the stuff you two have written about THE WIZ and how it's been falsely attacked regarding money and regarding Diana Ross.

You can talk about that if you want, we're probably not going to very much because we've actually traced down another lie on that, the original lie that popularized it online.  And we plan to write about that soon.  But we will again note that the film was not a bomb.  And that the film was released beyond North America even if no one wants to ever note the overseas box office. But it is cute how IMDB is the basis for box office for CRAPAPEDIA and CRAPAPEDIA calls CONVOY, released the same year as THE WIZ, a hit and they call F.I.S.T. a hit when THE WIZ is 21 for 1978, right between CONVOY and F.I.S.T.  It's part of the attack on Black history and Black artists to downgrade THE WIZ and to attack Diana Ross.

Isaiah: Without Diana, there is no movie.  It would never have been made.  Can we talk about that?  I know it's not books but as a Black man I've gotten really sick of all the attacks and that was before you guys started writing about how these attacks were based on lies.  

Sure.  Rob Cohen, the producer,  knew that Diana as Dorothy meant two things -- the film got made and Diana would get a million dollars for her portrayal.  Diana was the first box office actress to be Black.  She twice made the list of the 20 box office stars.  And without her, the film wouldn't have been made.  It would have been another successful Broadway show with an all Black cast or even a majority Black cast that got optioned throughout the seventies but never got made.  Diana meant box office.  A film that brought in that amount -- and this is film rentals, not ticket sales -- is not a bomb. 

Isaiah:  It brought in basically four times the box office that Richard Pryor's BLUE COLLAR did the same year. But NETFLIX didn't mention that in the 'documentary' where they slammed Diana and accused her of ending Black movies.  And, to bring it back to the book, Chaz Gower's book does a real service, for the record, for truth, for Jack Kirby and others who've seen their credits watered down or outright stolen. 

------------------------------

Previous book discussions:

"Books (Jess, Ava and C.I.)"

"Books (Stan, Ava and C.I.)"

"Books (Trina, Ava and C.I.)"

"Books (Rebecca, Marcia, Ava and C.I.)"

Book List

 Book coverage continues in this community.  For earlier lists of books covered see 2021's  "Books," 2023's "Books" and 2024 "Book List"

Books reviewed in the community this year.

1) "bob hope should be a lesson" -- Rebecca reviews Richard Zoglin.  

2) "Shattered Love: A Memoir" -- Marcia reviews Richard Chamberlain's insipid autobiography. 

3) "Help! My Apartment Has A Dining Room Cookbook: How to Have People Over Without Stressing Out" -- Trina reviews a cookbook.

4)  "Media: OWNED finds Eoin Higgins owned by bad journalism" -- Ava and C.I. take on Eoin Higgins bad book.

5) "Sly's awful books proves Questlove a liar" -- Stan reviews Sly Stone's memoir. 

6) "THE LIFE AND HARD TIMES OF HEIDI ABROMOWITZ (Jess)" -- Jess reviews a humor book by Joan Rivers.

7) "STAN LEE LIED: YOUR HANDY GUIDE TO EVERY LIE IN THE ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS" -- Isaiah reviews a book documenting truths. 

You can learn a lot on BLUESKY

We're reposting Marica because (a) we should all be off Twitter and (b) BLUESKY is a platform we recommend.  Marcia's done a grab bag post tonight using just BLUESKY.

BlueSky grab bag

I'm just going to note some BlueSky posts tonight.

And I'm big STAR TREK fan so I've got to include this.

Here's C.I.'s "The snapshot:"

2025 passings

 

In 2025, we'll continue to note passings that we see as significant -- as we did previously "2024 passings" and  "2023 passings."

"David Lynch" -- Stan notes the passing of a director.

"Joan Plowright" -- Marcia notes the passing of an actress 

"Movies and Leslie Charleson" -- Stan notes the passing of daytime actress Leslie Charleson. 

"Roberta Flack" and "Roberta Flack was one of a kind amazing" -- Kat and Elaine reflect on the art of Roberta Flack. 

"Gene Hackman" -- Stan covers the passing of a two time Academy Award winner.

"Angie Stone" -- Betty covers the passing of the queen of neo soul.