In 2021, we'll be covering digital books. So far this year, the coverage includes:
Dona's "A SPY IN THE HOUSE OF ANAIS NIN (Dona)"
Elaine's "JOAN: FORTY YEARS OF LIFE, LOSS, AND FRIENDSHIP WI..."
Rebecca's "the mommie dearest diary: carol ann tells all"
Marcia's "Paul Jay's bad Gore Vidal 'book'"
Stan's "Adrienne Barbeau's bad book THERE ARE WORSE THINGS I COULD DO"
Trina's "Mexican Casserole and a book in the Kitchen"
Mike's "Book review CONVERSATIONS WITH CAPOTE"
Another time where I (Ty) dip into the mailbag. First up? Ava and C.I.'s "TV: Exclusion empowered by The Water Cooler Set" resulted in a ton of e-mails with most of you agreeing that Sammy Davis Jr. was being held to a standard that a White entertainer would not be. "When has Elvis' support for Richard Nixon been an issue," Andrea wrote and answered, "Never!"
However, Tiffany Waters singled out this section:
"Race" is addressed with Paula Wayne raging against Frank Sinatra for not telling JFK that Sammy had to perform at the presidential inauguration. She doesn't rage against JFK for nixing Sammy. Time and again, the powerful (JFK, corporations like the makers of Geritol which didn't want to sponsor a show with an African-American lead) are let off and the minor are slammed. Major events, like the MLK-led March on Washington in 1963, which Sammy was a part of, are reduced to less than 30 seconds or outright ignored.
Tiffany writes, "I watched and I agree with Paula Wayne that it was Frank's fault. He could have done something to keep Sammy Davis Jr. performing at the inauguration."
"Really?" respond Ava and C.I. jointly. "Evelyn Lincoln is the name you need to learn, Tiffany. She was the incoming President Kennedy's secretary. She called Sammy and told him that JFK did not want Sammy present at the inauguration. How is that Frank's fault? Frank Sinatra went to Sammy's wedding. And when Sammy postponed it ahead of the election, Frank told him he shouldn't and that he was a better man than Sinatra was because he wouldn't do that himself. He postponed it to avoid 'embarrassing' JFK. Tiffany, you prove our point. You'd rather fixate on Frank Sinatra than hold JFK responsible for having his secretary call Sammy and tell him that he wasn't wanted at the inauguration."
Larry wants to know if we'll ever cover comics again and could we do a roundtable on superhero shows? On the first one, probably not. But who knows? On the second one, that sounds like a good idea and I'll propose it next weekend.
Elsie wants to know if we could do more music "by the way." I think we could and I'll see what we can do about that.
Jordan likes that recent weeks saw us publishing not "highlights" but reposts. "I would love to tell you I read everything but I sometimes miss stuff and it was great to see those posts."
Heath wonders if we could get something on broadcast TV? I'm passing that one on to Ava and C.I., Heath, I think they've already got something planned with regards to that.
Randall wonders if we think there will ever come a time when Iraq will be written and spoken of widely? He means the Iraq War. I think this anniversary -- the 18th year since the war started -- might get it a little more attention. Might not, though. It is really sad how so many walked away from the war.
xx
1) Fiona Apple's FETCH THE BOLT CUTTERS.
2) Rickie Lee Jones' PIRATES.
3) Harry Style's FINE LINE.
4) Rickie Lee Jones' THE MAGAZINE.
5) Aretha Franklin's YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK.
7) Dionne Warwick's SHE'S BACK.
8) Nina Simone's HERE COMES THE SUN.
9) Ben Harper's CALL IT WHAT IT IS.
10) Alicia Keys' HERE.
Source: https://www.podbean.com/eau/pb-5xnnf-... Welcome to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary andanalysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Margaret Kimberley, along with my co-hostGlen Ford. Coming up: Some say the term fascism was born when Europeans startedtreating each other the way they’d been treating the colonized people of the world forcenturies. We’ll discuss the subject with Omali Yeshitela, of the Black Is Back Coalition.And, Ajamu Baraka, of the Black Alliance for Peace, warns that you can’t effectivelyfight police repression at home while condoning the U.S. acting like the policeman of theplanet. But first – a new newspaper has hit the streets in Philadelphia, dedicated to theliberation of the nation’s best known political prisoner, Mumia Abu Jamal. Pam Africa iscoordinator of International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Shewants folks to sign a petition, in the newspaper, demanding that Philadelphia’s districtattorney stop standing in the way of Abu Jamal’s freedom. That was Pam Africa, of International Concerned Family & Friends ofMumia Abu-Jamal. Mumia has been confined to the Pennsylvania prison system for the past 39 years. Hefiled this report for Prison Radio, in memory of Cicely Tyson. At noon on Saturday, March 6, the Black Is Back Coalition for SocialJustice, Peace and Reparations will hold a webinar on “Fascism, Neoliberalism, and theWay Forward.” The Democratic Party claims that it is a bastion of resistance toRepublican fascism – but it is the Democrats that are most eager to put limits on free speech and access to the Internet. Black Is Back Coalition chairman Omali Yeshitelaoffers this analysis. That was Omali Yeshitela, of the Black Is Back Coalition, speaking fromSt. Petersburg, Florida. The U.S. Peace Council recently held a joint webinar with the Venezuelan section of theCommittee for International Solidarity and Struggle for Peace. The event’s lead speakerwas Ajamu Baraka, national organizer of the Black Alliance for Peace.
Matt Taibbi, Leslie Lee, Ben Studebaker and Katie learn in real time that Biden has bombed Syria. ***Please support The Katie Halper Show *** On Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thekatiehalpe... Follow Katie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kthalps
AOC & Dems...Cages are now "Facilities"???, Biden's Priorities, Best Tweets this month! & more! ---- https://streamlabs.com/theconvocouch/tip to have your chat show up ON SCREEN! Paypal HERE: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/theco... Thanks to the support of our amazing fams, we were able to upgrade our equipment to produce clean interviews as well as having the means to travel and bring you ON THE GROUND footage that mainstream media WILL NOT SHOW YOU... To support us further: Patreon: http://bit.ly/tccpat4 or Sign up on Rokfin and get access to all the creators Premium Content https://rokfin.com/TheConvoCouch (Creators include: Niko House, Ron Placone, Graham Elwood, Jimmy Dore, Kim Iversen, Tina-Desiree Berg, Jackson Facts, The American Vagabond, Papi Chulomin Richard Medhurst & more!) --------------------------------------------------------------- Keep Up With THE CONVO COUCH 🛋 📺 Youtube: http://bit.ly/tccyt27 💵Patreon: http://bit.ly/tccpat4 👾Rokfin: https://rokfin.com/TheConvoCouch 🤖Twitch: https://twitch.tv/theconvocouch 🐦Twitter: https://twitter.com/theconvocouch 👮♀️Facebook: http://bit.ly/tcc2fb 🍑Instagram: http://instagram.com/theconvocouch 🍝Craig "Pasta" Jardula Twitter: https://twitter.com/yopasta Facebook: http://bit.ly/pasta2fb 💃Fiorella Isabel: Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fiorella_im Facebook: http://bit.ly/tccfifb27 🌊Jonny Tsunami: Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonathanmayorca Jonny started a new channel! But will still be producing The Convo Couch :) Subscribe to True Rebel Network: https://www.youtube.com/c/truerebelne... Support True Rebel Network: https://www.patreon.com/truerebelnetwork
Is Tyler Hoechlin a weapon of the government being set loose on the domestic population?
We wondered that while watching SUPERMAN AND LOIS because Tyler Hoechlin could be turned loose anywhere to pacify a population. In fact, if TIGER BEAT published a dictionary, we're sure an illustration of Tyler would be found under "dreamy."
He plays Superman and he is a first rate Clark Kent. When Superman appears in film or on TV, he tends to work if the actor can project humanity. If the actor comes across arrogant or mocking, he tends to fail with people (see Brandon Routh).
Tyler Hoechlin fairly drips -- sweats? -- humanity. You just want to reach out and give him a hug. You root for him and that is especially important in SUPERMAN AND LOIS because Clark and Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) are the parents of a set of twin teenage boys. To care about Clark's struggles as a dad, you really need an actor in the role who makes you want to root for him.
There's not a great deal to root for these days. US President Joe Biden was only a month into his presidency when he bombed Syria at the end of last week. It's not that the western press ignored it, it is that they ignored reality.
They spent the start of last week fretting over the lack of a 'response' to bombings in Iraq said to be targeting the ongoing US presence in the country. Lack of response? The US government immediately blamed the attacks on Iran. Allow us to explain to the glorified general studies majors who try to pass themselves off as journalists, blaming Iran is a response.
The morning after the bombing, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki declared, "We are sending -- the President is sending an unambiguous message that he’s going to act to protect Americans. And when threats are posed, he has the right to take an action at the time and in the manner of his choosing." The US media immediately accepted the parameters the White House set on the discussion. But this is, after all, the same media that applauded their nemesis Donald Trump when he bombed someone. They're always thrilled when others die.
That is what happened, please note.
Credit Connor O'Brien (POLITICO) for being the first to note members of Congress -- led by Senator Tim Kaine -- asking questions about legality and authority, but interest in deaths cause by the US bombing 'response' just wasn't forthcoming from the US corporate press.
So much is missed by the media these days. Even the non-news media struggles with fairness. Last week, Stan noted Joe Piscopo's remarks about how Joe Biden was an untouchable on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.
It wasn't always that way. When he was Vice President of the United States, SNL could offer some good humored jokes at Joe's expense. Our favorite would be this one from December 2013's Weekend Update sketch.
Vice President Joe Biden this week visited China and urged young
students there to challenge their government, teachers and religious
leaders. Then his punk band finished the rest of their set.
-- Cecily Strong, Weekend Update, Saturday Night Live (Saturdays, NBC)
Though the jokes often missed, SNL was once and equal opportunity offender. They stopped being that when Barack Obama was running for president in 2008. Suddenly, SNL's sharp edge was dulled and 'jokes' were about how cool and wonderful Barack was. It was as though every class clown in the writers' room had come down with a deadly case of kiss-ass.
Again, SNL is non-news. Unlike US House Rep Marc Veasey we grasp the difference between entertainment and news. CNN is the news media. Krystal Ball (RISING) pointed out last week that the fact checks so popular while Trump was president are now put on hold with Joe Biden in the White House.
It's not fair.
Think how actions like that impact discourse in this country. For example, a number of Americans believe Donald Trump won the 2020 election. Per Pew Research, 76% of Trump voters feel that he won or that he "probably won." When the news media doesn't play fair, when they pile on one politician while giving a pass to another, people notice. The behavior of the media from 2016 forward was appalling. And we all saw it whether we choose to be honest about it or not. What took place sewed division and distrust
So if you're bothered that so many people believe Donald Trump won the 2020 election, ask yourself what role the media played in furthering an uneven playing field -- one that many, many people noticed.
Ask yourself also what role the media played in the dog piles on women. No we're not talking about Tara Reade. We could but we're talking about that fey sprite Justin Timberlake. BLACK SNAKE MOAN should have never been made but, if it had to be made, there was no reason to cast castarati Justin Timberlake. Long before Lance Bass came out, the big rumor about NSYNC was that Justin was gay. He wasn't gay. He was effete. In our society, thanks to the narrative popularized by Hollywood (to protect in the closet money makers), effete equals gay. So Justin went through the early '00s with a chip on his shoulder and another one on his smug ass. As a result, he felt the best way to shore up his questionable manhood was to objectify women.
Last month, Timberlake realized he could no longer ignore his past actions -- because people weren't letting him anymore. In 2018, he suffered the first significant wave of backlash over what he did to Janet Jackson.
That year, his poorly received Superbowl performance came on the heels of weeks and weeks of outrage over how he'd progressed just fine, after Nipplegate (the 2004 Superbowl performance where he ripped off Janet's top leaving her breast exposed).
Janet was banned from the Grammys that year, he performed. Les Moonves ordered all CBS radio stations to stop playing her songs, Justin's continued to be played. While Janet was banned and lost out on one opportunity after another (including the lead in a TV biopic about Lena Horne), Justin had endless opportunities and people endlessly applaued him -- endlessly applauded his theft and appropriation of Janet's brother Michael's musical style.
What changed last month? Britney Spears. Justin's ex-girlfriend received attention over the unfairness that is her currently life situation. Justin was part of the anti-Britney drama, using her to advance his melodramatic "Cry Me A River" single. A lot of people used Britney. We didn't. We noted at one point during her struggles that we don't do do pile ons and we had other things to cover. Britney's life has been difficult in the last two decades as she has fought for the basic right to run her own life. And Justin has coasted.
As the outrage grew, Justin finally issued an apology or 'apology' last month.
Too little too late? How about: Not one damn bit believable?
The media should have told everyone that -- should have, but didn't. Kylie Minogue. Those two words were missing from most of the coverage. (One notable exception here.) In 2003, he made a big point to grope and cup her ass. Again, he felt the world saw him as gay. So what to do, what to do? Demean a woman, objectify her. That's all he's offered his entire solo career -- that and trying to rip off Michael Jackson. It was disgusting, please note, in 2017, when THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER did a musical roundtable and Tori Amos (who knows better) was making nice with Justy.
So much that takes place these days is disgusting which is why we have to wonder if Tyler Hoechlin is being deployed to distract us from reality? Who knows but he's really something and SUPERMAN AND LOIS is one of 2021's better TV shows.
