1/. We [Americans] are collectively "over" the pandemic, and the Dems need to cope with that....
Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
The American people are sick of the pandemic and the public-health mandates. Unable to end the former, Democrats are now moving to roll back the latter.
In a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 75 percent of adults declared themselves “tired” of the pandemic, while nearly as many described themselves as “frustrated” by it.
2/. Bill Maher - "New Rules" - Karma explained.....pretty good....he's back on form....
3/. What the hell is happening in the UK? The Times explains the Boris issue and
indeed the Conservative Party's dilemma....
LONDON — British Conservatives, who have ruled the country for longer than any other party in recent history, are in an agonized, self-flagellating panic. Should they get rid of Boris Johnson, their populist leader, whose deceit and breaking of lockdown rules have infuriated so much of the country and embarrassed his party? Or stick with a man who, so far, has kept them in power?
4/. One of SNL's better skits - Amazon Echo, Silver edition......you may decide you want one of these.....
5/. And what the hell is happening in Canada? Ond many countries as well?
Matt Taibbi has a theory....and you won't like it....
The White House issued a statement Friday, after Joe Biden chatted with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
The two leaders agreed that the actions of the individuals who are obstructing travel and commerce between our two countries are having significant direct impacts on citizens’ lives and livelihoods… The Prime Minister promised quick action in enforcing the law, and the President thanked him for the steps he and other Canadian authorities are taking to restore the open passage of bridges to the United States.
Translation: Biden told Trudeau his testicles will be crushed under a Bradley Fighting Vehicle if this trucker thing is allowed to screw up the Super Bowl, or Biden’s State of the Union address. Trudeau’s own statement that day came off like the recorded video message of a downed pilot:
6/. Fox News Sunday?
7/. Ezra Klein, with the benefit of hindsight, tells us how the Covid response
could have been handled better....
If the C.D.C. had recommended better masks from the beginning, how many people would have worn them and for how long? If the Biden administration had flooded stores with cheap rapid tests, would people have used them? If boosters had been pushed earlier, and more loudly, would the United States no longer trail peer nations in vaccinations?
Put differently: How much would getting our pandemic policies right have mattered?
8/. Tom Tomorrow with his wisdom.....toons tell it all.....
9/. Every SB Half Time Show ranked by Rolling Stone......and you will love their #1 choice, and probably watch it again!
There is no gig in music like the Super Bowl halftime show. You have 15 minutes to justify your legend. You have 150 million people watching, most of whom are distracted by the nachos platter, how much beer is left in the fridge or how much of the rent they bet on the game. Chances are it’s the biggest worldwide audience of your life, and getting it right means rising to the hugeness of the moment. Best of luck to Sunday’s performers!
Related: How to Watch the 2022 Super Bowl Online
And with Super Bowl 56 set for this Sunday, what better time to rank the Big Game’s halftime shows from worst to best. Here’s a subjective, personal, irresponsible and indefensible breakdown of the winners and losers. The Bonos and Beyoncés and Bruces and Britneys. The Janets and Justins. From Prince and Madonna, from Michael to Macca. Plus the year they trapped poor Gloria Estefan in a Minnesota “Winter Magic” pageant with a bunch of figure skaters and inflatable snowmen. Believe it or not, all these Super Bowl halftime shows really happened. Some were transcendent. Some sucked. Pass those bacon fritters and enjoy the show.
10/. Bill Maher with one of the best "New Rules" ever......he is so right on this one.....
11/. If you are ambivalent about who you are rooting for for Super Bowl, read this....interesting....
The next next Tom Brady? Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images
The NFL has come out of the last two exhausting years somehow even more popular and dominant than it was before.
The league benefited from a little luck early on: COVID hit American shores just after the 2020 Super Bowl, sparing the NFL any disruption for eight months and letting baseball, basketball, and hockey figure out pandemic best practices.
12/. The Chinese know what they're doing.....cynicism personified....
13/. This looks interesting.....coming in March....
Renée Zellweger likes the idea of people seeing the murdering Midwestern mom from The Thing About Pam and not realizing right away that it’s her. “Oh, gosh, if you don’t recognize an actor or an actress in a performance, that’s a great compliment,” the two-time Oscar winner says. “You’re not trying to tell your own story.”
The story of this series, which debuts March 8 on NBC, happens to be true, although that’s sometimes difficult to believe. Zellweger stars as Pam Hupp, a middle-aged mother and insurance office worker, who in 2011 became embroiled in a brutal slashing murder for which she is currently facing charges.
14/. Often overlooked, film documentaries are great TV....
Just look at any streaming service’s offerings: Nonfiction cinema (or just “documentaries,” if you prefer) is in its heyday. Filmmakers are bending and twisting and experimenting with the form, and the results are often more exciting than what’s happening with their fictional counterparts.
So it’s no surprise that this year’s Sundance Film Festival, which often premieres the year’s buzziest and most brilliant documentaries, was loaded with fascinating, challenging, and entertaining offerings. From playful explorations of the natural world to portraits of countries — and even one film shot entirely in virtual reality — here are the 15 nonfiction films to watch for this year, and where to find them.
15/. Can't wait for this series....wow!
Galadriel’s world is a raging sea. Far from the wise, ethereal elven queen that Cate Blanchett brought to Peter Jackson’s acclaimed films, the Galadriel played by Morfydd Clark in Amazon’s upcoming series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is thousands of years younger, as angry and brash as she is clever, and certain that evil is looming closer than anyone realizes. By episode two, her warnings set her adrift, literally and figuratively, until she’s struggling for survival on a raft in the storm-swept Sundering Seas alongside a mortal castaway named Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), who is a new character introduced in the show. Galadriel is fighting for the future; Halbrand is running from the past. Their entwined destinies are just two of the stories woven together for a TV series that, if it works, could become a global phenomenon. If it falls short, it could become a cautionary tale for anyone who, to quote J.R.R. Tolkien, delves too greedily and too deep.
Oscar nominated movies to watch right now!
Perhaps more than ever before, this year’s Oscar nominees are living on streaming platforms. Multiple films from the nominations lineup originated on streamers—Netflix has The Power of the Dog and Don’t Look Up, while Apple TV+ enters the race with CODA and The Tragedy of Macbeth. As such, it’s never been easier to watch the theatrical noir of Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley (four nominations) or the towering visualsof Denis Villeneuve’s Dune (10 nods) without leaving home. While a few films (Licorice Pizza, West Side Story) can only be experienced in theaters, many of the rest are a tap away.
Today's video - time for one of the short horror movies....three chilling minutes.....this is a good one, called "The Picture"...
Today's Israeli joke
The coach had put together the perfect team for the Chicago Bears. The only thing that was missing was a good quarterback. He had scouted all the colleges and even the Canadian and European leagues, but he couldn't find a super athlete who could ensure a Super Bowl win.
Then one night while watching CNN he saw a war-zone scene in the West Bank . In one corner of the background, he spotted a young Israeli soldier with a truly incredible arm. He threw a hand grenade straight into a 15th story window 100 yards away. KABOOM! He threw another hand grenade 75 yards away, right into a chimney. KA-BLOOEY! Then he threw another at a passing car going 90 mph. BULLS-EYE!
"I've got to get this guy!” the coach said to himself. "He has the perfect arm!" So, he brings him to the States and teaches him the great game of football. And the Bears go on to win the Super Bowl.
The young man is hailed as the great hero of football, and when the coach asks him what he wants, all the young man wants is to call his mother.
"Mom,"he says into the phone, "I just won the Super Bowl !"
"I don't want to talk to you", the old woman says."You are not my son!"
"I don't think you understand, Mother," the young man pleads. "I've won the greatest sporting event in the world. I'm here among thousands of my adoring fans."
"No! Let me tell you!" his mother retorts. "At this very moment, there are gunshots all around us. The neighborhood is a pile of rubble. Your two brothers were beaten within an inch of their lives last week, and I have to keep your sister in the house so she doesn't get raped!" The old lady pauses, and then tearfully says,.......... "I will never forgive you for making us move to Chicago!"
Today's cycle of life joke
1. When I was 13, I hoped that one day I would have a girlfriend with big Tits.
2. When I was 16, I got a girlfriend with big tits, but there was no passion, I decided I needed a passionate girl with zest for life.
3. In college I dated a passionate girl, but she was too emotional. Everything was an emergency. She was a drama queen, cried all the time and threatened suicide. I decided I needed a girl with stability.
4. When I was 25, I found a very stable girl but she was boring. She was totally predictable and never got excited about anything. Life became so dull that I decided I needed a girl with some excitement.
5. When I was 28, I found an exciting girl, but I couldn't keep up with her. She rushed from one thing to another, never settling on anything. She did mad impetuous things and made me miserable as often as happy. She was great fun initially and very energetic, but directionless. I decided to find a girl with some real ambition.
6. When I turned 30, I found a smart ambitious girl with her feet planted firmly on the ground, I married her. She was so ambitious that she divorced me and took everything I owned.
7. I'm older and wiser now, I'm looking for a girl with big tits.
Today's Irish joke
A Utah Mormon was seated next to an Irish Catholic on a flight back to the States from London . After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken.
The Irishman asked for a whiskey and a glass of Guinness, which were promptly brought and placed before him. The flight attendant then asked the Mormon if he would like a drink.
He replied in disgust, "I'd rather be savagely raped by a dozen whores than let liquor touch my lips."
The Irishman then handed his drinks back to the attendant and said, "Me too, I didn't know we had a choice."
Today's true story.
A woman went to her rabbi with a serious problem. Her two female parrots had picked up a bad habit. Any time she had visitors, the two parrots would embarrass her by saying, in unison, "Hi, we're hookers. Want to have some fun?"
To her surprise, the rabbi broke into a smile, and explained that he had two male parrots which he had trained to pray and who had become very observant, spending much of the day praying in their cage. He was confident that, if the woman brought her two parrots over to his house, his two parrots would exert such a positive influence that her birds would turn into model parrots.
The next day the woman drove over to the rabbi's house and brought her two parrots into his home. As she looked around, she noticed a large cage with two parrots, each wearing a little yarmulka and tiny prayer shawl, and each holding a miniature prayer book while they rocked back and forth in prayer.
Sure enough, as soon as she placed her female parrots in the cage, they shouted out to their male counterparts: "Hi! We're hookers. Want to have some fun?"
One of the rabbi's parrots immediately turned to the other, squawking:" Moishe, put the fucking book down! Our prayers have been answered!"
