#man. i should try playing it again. i need to play aoc again | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

multimetaverse · 4 years ago

Text

HSMTMTS 2x01 Review

New Year’s Eve was a great way to return to HSMTMTS especially after such a long gap. Let’s dig in!

Vladimir Lenin once said that, ‘’ there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen". It’s been almost a year and half since S1 ended but this past week has seen revelation after revelation as the fandom has resurrected itself and promotion for S2 kicked into high gear: Joshua Bassett came out, Frankie and Joe confirmed that they are a real life couple, Larry seemingly confirmed that S2 will only have 11 eps rather than the 12 initially ordered, and perhaps most importantly Olivia revealed that she and the main cast are under contract for 4 seasons and made clear that she’s leaving the show as soon as her contract is up.

I really enjoyed this premiere, it felt like picking up right back where we left off. I’m guessing that S2 was originally supposed to premiere around Christmas or New Year’s but the holiday decorations and real Utah snow add a charming aesthetic to the ep. Tim Federle deserves credit for giving HSMTMTS more of an ensemble feel which is no easy feat with a cast as large as this show has. It likely won’t last due to covid restrictions but at least for tonight we got to see all the characters hanging out together acting like a real group of friends.

The dialogue tonight really reminded me of Glee and I think I mean that as a compliment. Miss Jenn in particular seems to be doing her best April Rhodes impression minus the alcoholism.

The rini scenes tonight were lovely. Perfect gift was a great song and I loved the rini duet during the music in me as the world faded around them leaving just the two of them. The Harry Styles reference is funny in light of Josh’s coming out interview. Of course, it’s hard now to separate Nini and Ricky and Olivia and Josh. Their chemistry shines through as 2x01, 2x02, and possibly parts of 2x03 were filmed pre Jolivia breakup which seems to have happened around summer 2020. Whether they can keep that same chemistry later on in S2, not to mention future seasons, remains to be seen.

A major theme tonight was communication and clearly Rini need to work on theirs. Poor Ricky had to learn that Nini’s moving to Denver the night before she leaves town which has to remind of him of his mom effectively abandoning him. Ricky saying that he’s never gonna breakup with Nini ever again sure sounds like foreshadowing for a disaster though the odds that this time Nini initiates the breakup are pretty good.

I’m glad that the show is continuing to delve in the Bowen’s divorce story with their house being sold and Ricky and his dad having to move into an apartment. Divorce is expensive and the division of assets typically leave people less well off. Mike Bowen needs to work on his communication skills but he’s rocking that beard; it takes him from depressed divorced dad to depressed divorced daddy.

Seblos was cute and in a nice change of pace Disney doesn’t seem to be cynically teasing them then cutting their scenes. It was refreshing to see them just being a couple and to hear Carlos casually refer to himself as gay. In that regard tonight’s ep didn’t seem like it was a Disney show at all and it’s major progress that there are now two main gay characters on HSMTMTS. We learn that Carlos is rich which seems likely to be a source of conflict with Seb who comes from a large farming family.

Bet on It was really fun and I liked that Ricky apparently couldn’t stop singing it. The medley of HSM 2 songs was fun but I’ll be real with you wildcats, I never thought HSM 2 or 3 were nearly as good as the first movie so I’m not sad that they’re doing something else this year.

Wild that Big Red’s mom also calls him Big Red. Salt Lake Slices seems poised to be a big part of S2 both as hangout spot and work location for some of the characters. Redlyn are sweet together but sometimes Big Red comes off as a closeted gay guy which isn’t ideal for a het pairing that is supposedly a big part of S2.

Nice to see Gina so excited to have sleepovers with Ashlyn. We know from 2x03 that Gina contends with being single on Valentine’s day and from her glances at Ricky tonight she’s clearly not over him. Tim’s playing with fire and I can only hope he knows what he’s doing. I liked the little detail of Kourtney having AOC on her vision board, it feels true to the character (hopefully AOC gets elected president one day if the USA doesn’t collapse into a fascist dictatorship or civil war before then). EJ’s beard has got to go but I like that he seems committed to being a better version of himself; very doubtful his plan to go straight to Duke like his forefathers doesn’t change by the end of the season.

Derek Hough did a good job of playing Zach as a subtly condescending man who managed to swiftly undermine Miss Jenn’s confidence, we’ll see what he and North High bring to the table.

Looking Ahead:

Next week are auditions for Beauty and the Beast, we know Ashlyn gets the role of Belle and EJ has conveniently removed himself from the running for Beast which presumably clears the path for Ricky to take the lead. There’s been some controversy over the casting choices and I’ll save my comments about it for the 2x02 review.

We get to see Lily who looks like a meaner version of season 1 Gina, we’ll see how much depth she actually ends up getting. Howie is introduced in 2x03 and Antoine likely shows up later on. Jack likely shows up towards the end of the season.

Howie seems to have a connection with Kourtney though the character synopsis does say he gets close to a wildcat or two which certainly leaves room to slide him into Gina’s plot. We know Antoine is into Ashlyn so that’s another love triangle to look forward to. Jack was described as having wanderlust and most of the cast seems not to have filmed with him so I think it’s likely that he plays a role in convincing EJ to take a gap year rather than head straight to Duke.

A translation leak on TikTok reveals that in 2x03 Gina is sad that she’s only gotten a Valentine’s Day gift from her mom. A brief clip from the promo shows up her on her porch at night holding a heart shaped box of chocolates. If that’s supposed to be from a secret or semi-secret admirer than it has to be from either EJ, Ricky, or Howie. If it’s a platonic gift then it could be from anyone, we’ll see what Tim has up his sleeves.

Nini moving back to SLC is a question of when not if. It’s going to be very difficult to bring her back in a way that’s justified and also doesn’t leave the time she spends in Denver looking like a total waste. Frankly, I’d rather the show just bite the bullet and bring her back with as little fuss as possible.

We’re possibly around a quarter way through HSMTMTS given that the mains have 4 season contracts and presuming that the show is not cancelled earlier. At the very least the show will be radically different after S4 if they try to continue it as Olivia has made very clear that she’s going to leave asap to pursue her burgeoning music career full time (notably she’s only done the bare minimum of promo for S2).

Looming over the remaining seasons of HSMTMTS is what the professional relationship between Olivia and Josh looks like especially since in many ways the show is built around Ricky and Nini. Off screen relationships have often caused on screen problems and dating a co-worker is rarely a good idea since even clean breakups leave lingering resentments. Obviously the Jolivia breakup was not clean, Driver’s License, Deja Vu, and Good 4 U (which is a certified bop) were clearly written from a place of hurt and in some ways were written to hurt. It’s no surprise that Joshua has dropped his duet with Sabrina Carpenter from his EP; someone on his team at least is trying to stop the damage to his reputation. There’s a decent chance that Olivia’s songs becoming such hits has irreparably damaged Joshua Bassett’s reputation among the same pool of largely young women that he’s targeting his music towards thereby cutting off his music career at the knees. If nothing else this behind the scenes drama should keep things entertaining for a while.

Until next week Wildcats

#HSMTMTS #Rini #Seblos #Ricky Bowen #Nini Salazar-Roberts #Carlos Rodriguez #Seb Matthew-Smith #Gina Porter #ej caswell #HSMTMTS Reviews

54 notes · View notes

needs-to-stop-looking-at-yigas · 4 years ago

Note

Your style of description is a true delight to read, thank you for blessing us with all the yiga content,

How about some Sooga body worshipping his master?~

Thank you! And yes you can! (also you can totally send in ANY botw/aoc content, not just the husbands! People just seem to like them the most)

Kohga groaned as he slowly woke up. He slept pretty damn hard last night, and for a second, he had no idea where he even was. Right, they switched it up, and they had done some hanky panky in Sooga’s room. It was smaller than his own, but in a way, it was comfy. Though, Sooga kept it way too clean for his liking. It was so stiff and neat. Though, it suited the guy in question, he supposed. He was about to pick up his clothes from the floor, before the door to the room opened. Sooga. He was always a morning riser.

“Ah, you’re awake. I brought you breakfast.”

“Surprised you can walk, given last night.”

Kohga chuckled to himself. He was a real beast in the sack (not that it was any surprise to anyone). Sooga nodded, before bringing the tray to Master Kohga. A freshly made honey crepe, served with fried bananas, one hard boiled egg, and a piece of salt grilled meat (specifically red tusked boar. Kohga can tell the difference). Topped with a nice noble pursuit, Kohga was in breakfast in bed heaven. Kohga helped himself to the crepe first, and upon tasting it, he knew something was up.

“This is...good. Really good.”

“As it should be.”

Sooga seemed curious by his glare, and he apparently needed it to be explained to him.

“You suck at making crepes. You didn’t make this.”

“I...did not. I tried, but I burnt it.”

He was hopeless. An absolute himbo of a boyfriend. And did Kohga fucking love him. Kohga rolled his eyes, before continuing to tuck in.

“Next time, give it to me anyway.”

“Don’t...you want good food?”

Sooga asked, sitting right by Kohga’s side, ready to do whatever he wanted at any given second, like usual. Kohga tucked into the bananas, and knew it was the one thing Sooga made (he always added a bit too much sugar cane. Just a little).

“I want food YOU made me. Even if it kills me. I mean don’t TRY to kill me, but you get the idea. You’re my boyfriend, it’s just a thing we do for each other. Besides, it’ll help you be a better cook.”

Sooga seemed puzzled, before he softly chuckled.

“I...understand. I will make a note to try to perfect my skills. You deserve nothing less than perfect.”

“True. But we can’t all be perfect. You’re hot, you’re sweet, you can fight, that’s a pretty big deal.”

Kohga kept eating, before he caught Sooga smiling at him. He was sitting there like an idiot, swooning at him. Kohga stuffed his mouth full of the salted meat, eating it alongside the hard boiled egg. He swallowed, putting the remainder of his food down.

“What are you starin’ at?”

“I just...really think you’re perfect. I’m sorry, is me watching you eat disrupting you?”

Kohga motioned for him to take the tray, and Sooga obeyed, just putting it out of reach. Minus his drink of course. Kohga shook his head.

“No no no, I love the attention. But I’m just saying, you look like you wanna say something.”

Sooga hesitated, before Kohga prompted him with his hand. Sooga took his free hand, and massaged it carefully in his own hand.

“It’s just...seeing you in my bed feels like a dream. I’ve had men in my bed before, but no one I was in love with. No one like you. No one who is so perfect.”

“Go on.”

Kohga chuckled. He sensed some praise kink coming on, and who was he to tell his man no? He took a sip of his drink (he could tell Sooga didn’t make this one, this was actually kinda strong, Sooga always made shit light), and let Sooga do his thing. He pushed his mask back, just a bit, kissing the back of his hand.

“I Love everything about you. I love how soft your hands are. I love watching them when you fight. They’re so nimble, so skilled, I’m envious of them.”

Kohga chuckled, taking another sip of his drink. This was the life. A big, lovesick man, a drink in his hand, and a belly full of food, all without leaving his bed. Sooga kissed the back of his hand, each and every single finger, and his palm. This was the first time he kissed his bare hand, rather than through his uniform, so he was a BIT more eager than usual.

“Go on, what else?”

“I love your belly. I love how big and beautiful it is. I love how soft it feels. I love how it makes you look distinguished with it, I love how I ALWAYS want to rest my head upon it.”

Sweet talker, this one was. He even put his hand down in order to crawl into bed, and kiss his bare belly. He could tell Sooga was just a BIT too excited about it, given how plentiful the kisses were on his bare belly, but who was he to stop him? Kohga took another sip, grinning at the lovesick puppy in his arms.

“You hear some of the footsoldiers calling it ‘poochy’?”

“Yes, I’m quite aware, and I find myself accidentally saying it sometimes.”

Kohga snickered. It was a stupid thing that got started a while ago, and he personally didn’t mind it.

“So you like my ‘poochy tummy’?”

Sooga looked up at him with an almost exhausted expression, before nodding.

“Yes, I like your ‘poochy tummy’. And your ability to make me say something ridiculous, just for the sake of your amusement.”

Kohga took another swig, trying not to grin.

“Uh huh. What else do you like about me?”

He gave his stomach one more kiss, before he lifted himself up, and started to play with Kohga’s messy, curly hair.

“I love your hair. So soft and beautiful, so soft and wonderful. I could play with it for hours, days even. It always smells like mighty thistles, and I love how only I’ve seen it down like this. I love when you let me watch you put it up. It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

Kohga grinned, giving him a moment to play with his hair. He knew it was pretty, and knew HE was pretty. He let Sooga have his moment to worship him, before he gestured him to on.

“Go on, something else.”

“I love your lips. I love how they’re more beautiful than any flower in any part of Hyrule. I love how they’re softer than rito feathers.”

Sooga pressed his lips against his. Once, twice, thrice. After a while Kohga lost count. Big, handsome man ravishing him like that? Oof, it killed him. Kohga parted after a moment, clearly satisfied by Sooga’s worship. He was giving him such loving, such bedroom eyes.

“Hmmm...you DO like my lips…~”

“I like many other things about you, Master Kohga.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

Sooga pulled away the sheet, making Kohga totally nude again.

“I could tell you...Or I could show you.”

Kohga didn't have time to respond before Sooga nearly pounced on him, making Kohga drop his drink.

“Sooga! You dropped my drink!”

“Fix it later.”

He mumbled, nearly pinning Kohga down by his weight, and showering his neck in kisses.

“Soooooga!!”

Kohga would allow a spilled drink. Just once. He was lucky he was so goddamn cute.

#asks #kohga #sooga #suggestive #let him woo his man god dammit #i almost never made sooga totally charming

14 notes · View notes

tivajunkie · 6 years ago

Text

So I’m rewatching Into the Light

Nobody asked for my live thoughts, but I’m giving them to you anyway. Enjoy!!

•Flashback to 17x01: Gibbs knocks the gun out Ziva’s hand and she immediately pulls another one on him

•I shouldn’t find that funny, but I still do. It’s so Ziva.

•”I was awake yesterday” is still a MOOD

•“We try to avoid shooting people...” poor local LEOs had no idea what was coming lol

•”Special Guest Star Cote de Pablo”

•I STILL CANT BELIEVE THIS IS REAL

•”Please tell me we didn’t just lie to the director again...”

•Poor Nick. This family will literally do anything for each other.

•Betcha anything Gibbs taught Ziva to swing the bat like that.

•Bishop and Ziva coming face to face. I have so many feelings...

•”My life is a series of bad times” lol it’s not funny except it kind of is

•“To be honest, I’m not really sure what I need right now.” Ziva that might be the most honest thing you’ve ever said.

•Ziva’s little smile when she finds out Gibbs didn’t know Bishop was coming

•I am HERE for this big sister/little sister dynamic

•The two political people McGre talked to? I’m pretty sure they’re supposed to represent Biden and AOC. Just a thought but there’s a lot of resemblance there.

•“She thanked me for rescuing Morgan Burke

•wahhhhh

•The flashback to shooting Ari...poor bby

•Ducky and Ziva...cue the Ross Gellar “I’m fine” gif

•“I was not alone”

•When this first aired I really thought she was about to say something about Tony but then...

•The ice cream day story. And picture. And everything really. 😭

•“Does Tony know?” “It’s complicated.”

•“I left him [Gibbs] a trail, Ducky. One that only he could see.”

•“And he didn’t come looking.”

•I CRY

•“Am I right, girlfriend?” Lolololol Jack

•Jimmy’s need to see Ziva. I love it so much

•“What the heck am I supposed to say to Tony when he calls me for our monthly Fortnite session?”

•idk Palmer but knowing you it’s going to be awkward and hilarious and I would LOVE IT for us if we could see and/or hear that!!

•McGee and Ziva! My heart is not ready!!

•Also I 100% knew that was a drop when she walked in to meet McGee before they revealed it

•“Saved me from having to beg”

•Poor McGee just wants to see his little sister!!

•“Can I have that hug now?”

•Ziva’s face 😊

•“I hear you’re a father now”

•It’s fine, I’m fine

•“I don’t have all the answers, McGee”

•“So come with me, to NCIS, and we can answer them together”

•HE JUST WANTS IT TO BE LIKE OLD TIMES

•“Whatever you think of us, we still think of you as family.”

•Cause, you know, FAMILY FIRST GUYS

•“Ziva, come home. Come home.”

•YEAH DO IT DO IT DO IT ZIVA

•and her face again 😥

•ASFFDAVAGk SHE’S HOME

•I asked for this but I was not ready!!

•Her eyes are locked on Tony’s desk

•just like his were locked on hers when she “died”

•and she’s got this little smile on her face

•THE TIVA THEME

•BLESS YOU BRIAN KIRK

•AND THE FLASHBACK THAT PARALLELS TONY FINDING OUT SHE “DIED”

•I AM NOT FINE. AT ALL.

•I AM A SOBBING MESS

•Nick and Ziva sizing each other up lol

•Bishop is so amused

•Nick has no idea what to do here hahaha

•Ziva totally sees what’s going on with those two.

•You can tell she’s thinking about something as they walk away

•Or someONE. Ahem.

•Tony, she’s definitely thinking about Tony.

•And wondering if the two of them were ever that obvious

•They were. Stupid, married idiots.

•She’s probably remembering all of the looks and banter and everything that took place between them in this room over the years

•Moving on now...

•I hate to break it to you Nick but Ziva absolutely would beat you in a fight

•“Possibly in a chair” lol Kasie

•“If you deny it I’m just going to say it louder”

•CALL HIM OUT JACK

•Gibbs sigh of relief when McGee and Bishop walk in lol

•“Oh, no, please Boss don’t do that”

•Poor McGee and his technology

•Oooh little sister is not happy with big sister

•Nicholas and Eleanor

•WHAT A MOM

•“Just, please, make it look real.”

•This whole conversation is GOLD

•“Don’t be a wuss, tell her how you feel!” And her smirk 😏

•“Your friend played your ass” Gibbs was so happy here lol

•“I miss doing this with you, Ziva”

•I MISS SEEING YOU TWO DO THIS TOGETHER

•The looks...Ziva knows Gibbs knows

•“I miss things sometimes. So I hear.”

•This is PAINFUL

•I GOT IT IN PARAGUAY

•SHE WENT TO PARAGUAY

•AND TOOK OUT AN ENTIRE FREAKING TERRORIST CELL FOR HER FAMILY

•after surviving a Somalia terror camp she VOLUNTARILY went to another terror camp, knowing Tony wouldn’t be around to save her if needed this time, BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT YOU DO FOR FAMILY

•ASDFFGSKAN I feel like we need to make a bigger deal about this!!

•“You couldn’t even hope I was still alive”

•I’m sobbing again

•“May I have a lifeline?”

•Hahaha oh Duck-Man

•Bishop is all about defending big sister. Love it.

•You can tell on Ziva’s face that she’s up to something when she’s transferring the assets lol

•These poor LEOs hahaha. What a 24 hours for them

•McGee’s “Ziva” and the smile on his face 🥺

•I’m crying again

•“I don’t kiss and show”

-“Tell”

-I MISS THEM SO MUCH

•“How’d you know?”

•“I didn’t. Hoped.”

•ASDFGFGSJAGA

•We’re just missing one member of the three musketeers here.

•Here’s hoping these next two episodes give us that!!

•Ziva apologized - twice - and no mention of the rules. Love that.

•“I get it in my head that you’re alive, and I’m out there looking, and it turns out you’re not...I would’ve uh...I would of...” *is speechless*

•Has Gibbs ever been this speechless before because of feelings?

•I don’t think so

•Here come the tears again

•“I would have lost you a thousand times if that’s what it took”

•THE ACTING HERE. MARK AND COTE FOR PRESIDENT. GIVE THEM ALL THE AWARDS

•Ugh but what do you have to do alone Ziva??

•Gibbs wiping Ziva’s tears away. Ziva’s nose boop. So pure. So Mark and Cote 😭😍

•DINOZZO

•“He should hear it from you”

•“And he will”

•ASSFSFAVgavHavJa I CANNOT

•How will he hear it?? Will we get to see it? I JUST WANT THEM TO REUNITE ALREADY DANG IT!!

•Is it time for the next 2 episodes yet??

8 notes · View notes

taylorinthe20s · 4 years ago

Text

blog post two: fame vs infamy after the siege: heroes and the hive mind

How can we heal as a nation from these twin viruses: COVID19 and The Big Lie/QAnon Conspiracy Contagion? What are some of your proposed antidotes?

What a loaded question! The year of 2020 has clearly been one of the most difficult, and it has felt very polarizing and hostile - but there also has been such a sense of fighting for what is right and community. As we talked about last week, Amanda Gorman in her inauguration poem said it all. We need to stand for love, and put down our arms to instead wrap them around one another to work towards the common goal of bettering this country. We need a sense of togetherness, and although this will be an extremely difficult task, we can start by engaging in helpful dialog, making change, understanding more, and being open to admitting our faults. There is a lot of healing to do!

What are your thoughts on Eugene Goodman's actions the day on Jan 6th?

Eugene Goodman deserves all the “hype” that he is receiving, because there is immense bravery and strength in what he did during the horrific day of when the Capitol was stormed- as a young black man, by himself (along with a reporter), he went up against the masses of seemingly large white males carrying flags and signs that hold systemically racist connotations, to help save those who were inside the Capitol fearing for their lives. His selflessness and courage are what this country should be looking towards; to do the right thing.

Do you think AOC demonstrated bravery in telling her story? How does such a narrative redefine power? How do her relationships with other staff members provide solace and assist with collective healing?

Yes, although I may be bias because I love AOC, sh did demonstrate bravery through telling her story. I think any woman that shares a story in which the narrative has the potential to be controlled by the media, and blames a majority of white men, for fearing for their lives, demonstrates a great strength - to call out your oppressors. AOC was taking back her power by telling her own account of what happened, rather than people trying to peg it down by saying it wasn’t “that bad” as if they were there. I thought it was comforting to see that she was in a room with two other female colleagues, and to see that her staff members respect and care for her enough to put their own lives on the line for her safety was extremely admirable. It’s again, comforting, to have a shared experience (although I wish it didn’t have to happen this way) for her to share with other females who felt the same sense of fear - to lean on women who can share an understanding of a horrific incident and get through it together.

What is the difference between Fame and Infamy? What does the insurrection say about the shadow side of celebrityhood and false idolatry?

Fame tends to hold a more positive connotation, while Infamy is largely associated with negative connotations. If someone is well known for something good, they are seen as famous - but if someone is well known for something bad or evil, they are considered infamous. The shadow side of celebrityhood and false idolatry can be dangerous, as we can see from these events, and even from social media. Following somebody famous in admiration with a proper sense of attribution for their fame is different than the blind obsession from the followers of somebody infamous.

The social media, live-streamed insurrection: what does it mean that the perpetrators of the Capitol siege provided photographic and video evidence of their crimes? Was this more evidence of delusion? Of white privilege?

The perpetrators of the Capitol siege provided photographic and video evidence of their crimes because they believe that they are above the law, the government of which has been elected does not “properly” represent them, and they seemingly want to be seen or known for infamy. It is completely delusional to believe that storming the Capitol will in any way change the vote in favor of their preferred party, or anything else for that matter. I was completely shocked, but not entirely, on what I saw on my TV screen that day because it made absolute no sense on how violence would ever be the answer to their “problems” or help them in any way. White privilege does take a play in this, I think we can all agree that if these were people of color, the story would be very different. They had no shame, seemingly not even thinking twice, about posting what they were doing in almost a prideful sense - almost expecting that whatever consequence that was coming their way would not be lethal.

Discuss the role of citizen sleuths and the anonymous creator of Faces of the Riot in this ongoing collaboration with the FBI. How does the hive mind serve as a corrective?

When Joe Biden was elected, CNN’s Van Jones said it pretty perfectly, “It’s easier to be a dad this morning. It’s easier to tell your kids, ‘Character matters, being a good person matters.. This is a big deal for us to get some peace and have a reset. Being a good man matters. I want my son to look at this. It is a good day for this country.” When we collectively work together to combat an evil, like those who helped identify the people who helped commit the horrific crimes in which took place in the Capitol, we become better. The hive mind can serve as a corrective when we can work together, not for what stands in between us, but what stands before us.

1 note · View note

johnboothus · 4 years ago

Text

Wine 101: American Red Blends

This episode of “Wine 101” is sponsored by Apothic Wine. From rich red blends, to an alluring white and a rosé with dark secrets, Apothic makes wine that is anything but ordinary. Ignite your curiosity with Apothic red, the intriguing red blend that launched the Apothic legacy. And yeah, there’s a sly, roguish wink to every one of our bottles, because we think a good wine, like a good time, should mix things up a little. I mean, bold nights call for rebellious wine. Apothic Wine: There’s mischief in the making.

In this episode of “Wine 101,” host Keith Beavers is joined by VinePair co-founder and CEO Adam Teeter. The two discuss the wine style and trend that is taking American wine culture by storm: red blends. Teeter lends a hand in tracing this style back to its roots and explains that red blends really emerged at the tail end of a previous obsession with Zinfandel. As American consumers grew tired of the Zinfandel that had flooded shelves for years, winemakers had to get creative and start blending the fruit with other grapes.

This process was led in part by David Phinney’s Prisoner wine, which spurred a new line of lush, plush red wines. Other wineries like Apothic have continued to produce new red blends each year with varying grapes, and enjoy the fact that there’s no solid definition of what goes into a “red blend.” Unlike other blended, area-specific styles like Chianti and Bordeaux, red blends can still live by their own rules.

This new wave of popular red wines has finally created an “everyday drinking” wine in America. While other countries are able to play on softer styles or versions of their own national wines, red blends have launched a new way for American oenophiles to end the workday — with or without steak, pasta, or other popular pairings.

Here, Teeter and Beavers dive deep into the history of red blends and what consumers should look out for when shopping for one today. They also discuss the one term that became consumers’ go-to descriptor for red blends — yet failed to make its way to wine tech.

Listen online

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

Or check out the conversation here

Keith: My name is Keith Beavers, and — oh, hey, dude.

Adam: Hey, Keith. I’m Adam Teeter, the co-founder of VinePair.

K: I know you are, but what are you doing here?

A: I actually don’t know what I’m doing here, I think to help you.

K: Well, since you’re here, I mean, it’s a little bit annoying. It’s my podcast.

A: I know.

K: But, you know, if you want to hang out, I do have a couple of questions if you’re totally cool with that.

A: Yeah, sure.

K: Thanks for your time. Adam Teeter, CEO of VinePair.

A: You’re welcome, Keith.

K: What’s going on wine lovers? Welcome to Season 2, Episode 3 of VinePair’s “Wine 101” podcast — it’s a lot to say. My name is Keith Beavers. I am the tastings director of VinePair. Not the CEO. What’s going on? Today, we’re talking about red blends, and I got to say, it’s a history thing happening right now. So I had to bring somebody in to help me understand what this new movement is. So we can move into the future with it as an American drinking culture. I brought in … the CEO. So the term “red blend” is pretty self-explanatory. Right? But the thing is, it’s evolving. That term is evolving into a new category of wine here in the American drinking culture. And it’s happening right now, in real time. So for me as a history buff, I was like, where do I start? How do I start researching something that’s actually happening right now? So, thing is, we’ve been talking about this at VinePair for a while, for a few years now, this idea of the red blend. We’ve been watching this thing evolve. So I decided to have a recorded conversation with CEO of VinePair, Adam Teeter, because he’s got it down. And I just wanted to pick his brain about it. And so the two of us kind of riff back and forth. And I think we’ve figured out what’s going on. Actually, I know we figured out what’s going on. Actually, Adam told me what was going on and I figured out what was going on. So I know this is a little bit different, but this is really good information because right now, this is happening. And as we move into the future, this could be a good timestamp. Like this is when it really started to take off, because for the last few years, the Nielsen Ratings have finally been tracking this idea of the red blend. So we’re just in the beginning of it. So sit back, relax, hang out. Me and Adam Teeter, CEO, let’s have a convo about the new phenomenon of red blends. Adam, thank you for coming on my podcast.

A: You’re welcome. Keith. It’s always great to be here. Well, it’s my first time, actually. Longtime listener. First time guest.

K: Do you listen to the podcast?

A: Yeah, I do, man. Every week.

K: All right, fine. So I brought you on here because I love this idea of the American red blend. I just need to understand what we do about it and where did it come from? I guess if you think about it, I’m going to say this — it’s going to sound really “wine pretentious.” But when I think of red blends, most of the wines from antiquity until now and around the world that we drink are blends from Chianti, Bordeaux, Champagne. These are all blends. But we have this term that we’re using to define something. And I need to understand what’s up. Can you riff for a second on what you know about what’s going on?

A: Yes, I think that’s what is so interesting about this, is that for people who are traditionally “learned” in the world of wine, let’s say, your WSETs, your self-taught people like yourself. Those that follow, as you refer to her, Jedi Master Jancis Robinson. We know of lots of wines being blended. Right? So if you say, “Oh, I’m really into red blends,” you could mean you’re into Southern Rhone wine. You could say you love Bordeaux. As you said, you could be really into lots of different styles, Chianti, etc. But what happened in the U.S. is, about 10, 15 years ago, you had this emergence of red wines on the market that in place of the label saying Merlot or the label saying Cabernet or Pinot Noir, just said “Red Blend.” And because we don’t name wines after places here, we don’t have our own version of “Napa,” let’s say, right? If you see a wine on the shelf and it just said “Napa” on it, you have no idea what it was. But we don’t do that. It was a way for American wine producers to market a new style of wine that was basically an old style. They were doing the same thing that winemakers in Chianti had done. They just were actually telling you it was a blend because they couldn’t say that their wine was called “Paso.” Did that for you.

K: Thanks, Adam.

A: Yeah. So basically this idea of “red blend” really took off. And now, red blend is looked at by a very large portion of American consumers to be the same thing as asking for a Merlot or asking for Cabernet. Not a trade-off. Right? You’re not going to drink a Merlot or a red blend. But what I mean by that is that when you order a red blend, you expect to receive a wine at your table or at the store that says red blend on the label. And I think that it’s kind of hard to wrap your mind around, right? Because we are talking about a new category of wine. And a category of wine that is treated the same as if a consumer were to say they like to drink Zinfandel. And actually, that’s what’s really interesting is that red blend is, in a lot of ways, the creation of the demise of Zinfandel.

K: The creation of the demise of Zinfandel? The demise of Zinfandel?

A: Out of the ashes of Zinfandel came the red blend.

K: Right! Because isn’t it true that most of these red blends are based on either Zinfandel or maybe Petite Sirah or something like that?

A: It used to be. But again, this is why this is crazy. So if we were in France or Italy, and we were in one of these AOCs, DOCs, etc., and we had written laws that said we’re going to name our category of wine, the red blend, “Keith’s Paso Blend” or whatever.

K: Aw.

A: Like if we were to say that, we would say, OK, well, this came about, let’s see, 20 years ago, 10 years in it became really popular. And when it was popular, the grapes used to make this specific kind of wine were Zinfandel, of which 65 percent was used; Petite Sirah, which the majority winemakers were making, like 20 percent. Then people were using a little bit of Merlot, whatever, you could use anything else you want. But those were the main. And then we would sit down and we would have a meeting, right, among all the people who voted in the AOC. And we’d write the guidelines and we’d vote on those guidelines. And we’d ratify them much like we try to ratify the tax code. Right? So we’d say these are the laws. But because, as you like to say all the time, “This is America,” we didn’t do that. And so the red blend has become basically any blend of red grapes that creates a red wine, for the most part, which is crazy. But the way that the red blend came about was, as you said, as a way for a lot of winemakers to use Zinfandel and Petite Sirah — primarily Zinfandel — that had gone out of fashion.

K: OK.

A: So basically in California, there was so much Zinfandel. I mean, I remember when I even came of drinking age, which was, you know, only 14, 15 years ago.

K: That’s all?

A: That’s all. It’s a long time ago, though, right? Even then there was still a lot of Zinfandel. I used to see it all over the place. And when I was in college and drinking underage, it was definitely everywhere. You’d walk into Publix and Kroger and there’d be all these Seven Deadly Zins and Ravenswood. Tons of Zinfandels all over the shelf. And they started to dwindle because Zinfandel became less popular. Now, you’ve talked about this before, but ripping up vines and replanting is very expensive.

K: Right.

A: And so all of a sudden, there were a lot of these grapes just on the market that nobody wanted. Or they didn’t want them for the price that people were originally paying for them. So a lot of really smart winemakers were like, “Well, this is still really high-quality fruit.” This wasn’t like this was fruit that was garbage. Right? This was really good fruit that made really good wine. Just the problem was that American tastes had changed. People didn’t want Zinfandel anymore. It wasn’t seen as like “The wine you always order with steak.” You know, big bad boy Cabernet Sauvignon was like, “No man, you’re not taking my spot. And so basically it just wasn’t something that people were ordering as much. And so these winemakers said, “Huh, what can I do with this really high-quality fruit?” And one of the winemakers who was trying to figure this out was a guy named Dave Phinney. And Dave Phinney is from Napa.

K: Oh!

A: Yeah. You know, Dave, he is from Napa. And he had access to all this fruit that other people didn’t want because they were going after Cabernet and Merlot, but there was a lot of Napa, and then I think also, if I’m correct, also the surrounding area of Sonoma etc., a lot of Zinfandel that was there that was really good. It was being grown in the same vineyards. And he said, “Huh, I’ll take all of that, and I’ll make a blend with it. Zinfandel will be the base, and I will call it The Prisoner.”

K: The Prisoner, the big old bottle that everybody buys.

A: Yep, and so basically he creates this bottle. It becomes this sort of cult wine. And at the same time, you had other winemakers making other wines like Apothic, another really big red blend. I mean, big in terms of popularity. And all kind of doing the same thing. Like they saw that they had access to these grapes. And so then when people asked someone like David, “What is the Prisoner?” he wasn’t gonna call it a Zinfandel because it was out of fashion. He said “Oh, it’s a red blend.” And so that’s kind of the origin story. I mean, the wine that’s really famous for making red blends what they are actually isn’t The Prisoner. It is Apothic. You can look at just what happened with that wine and how it just exploded on the American market and just became this massive phenomenon.

K: I remember buying it for my wine shop in 2009 when it came out.

A: Yeah. I mean, it’s really helped define what the red blend is. But now it’s really expanded past that. And now the red blend grew, and grew, and grew. And I think American consumers started saying, “Huh, I like this.” And so what is the flavor profile of the red blend? That’s what’s interesting, because it’s not now based on any specific grape, there’s no laws like we talked about. It’s hard to say, “Well, with all red blends, you will get X, Y, or Z” in the same way that you could probably say to me, “Well, when you have Chianti and it’s from this commune, you should expect to have this.” Or when you have Bordeaux from the Right Bank, you should look for wines that are softer and more supple, maybe drinkable at an earlier stage because they’re heavily based on Merlot, where on the Left Bank you’re going to get wines that you probably need to lay down for a while because they’re more based on Cabernet and things like that. You’re not going to get that with a red blend because every blend can be different. And so then here, I guess, flash-forward to another interesting part of the story with red blends is, I don’t know if this is responsible or not for also why red blends just kind of became any kind of blend of wines. But there did come a time when Mr. Phinney had a very successful product, and he sold it to another winery. And in selling that wine, he was not allowed to make a blend of wine, red blend of wine based on Zinfandel, for I think it was seven years or eight years.

K: Wow.

A: I think he has a wine called Seven Years in the Desert, or Eight Years in the Desert. I feel bad that I actually don’t know the actual name. So we might have to look that up. You can correct me. But yeah. And that now is sold through his label Orin Swift, but it’s the first Zinfandel-based red wine he was allowed to make after selling The Prisoner. And so he made other red blends that maybe were based on, like you said, Petite Sirah. Maybe he found some Malbec in California that people weren’t using as much or some Syrah or things like that. And it kind of just became this idea of red blends as these usually bigger, powerful, luscious wines.

K: Luscious is the big key there right?

A: Luscious is the word. I mean, that’s what I choose to use when I talk about red blends, they are luscious.

K: Every one that I have tasted and reviewed it’s about lush, plush fruit. It can be a big wine with a ton of alcohol, or it could be even a medium-bodied wine with lesser alcohol or the perceptions of either or. But, it’s always plush and smooth.

A: Yes.

K: So this is my theory, because again, I dig history, and I love watching how we evolve as a drinking culture in the United States because we’re so young and we had 10 years of Prohibition to mess around with our drinking culture. And then when we came out of Prohibition, we had to rebuild everything. And the first thing, we rebuilt instead of just like everyday wine, we built a fine wine region in Napa Valley and made it so that it was a fine wine region. And then there were all these AVAs across America and all this stuff. So then Robert Parker comes around with the point system and now everyone’s learning how to drink fine wine in America. But there’s never really been an everyday wine, which you have in Europe. Every DOC, like you said, even though they have these hard-and-fast rules that lasts for decades and decades, there’s always some sort of fun, easy-drinking wine that the region will make, whether it’s joven in Rioja.

A: Yep.

K: Or it’s, Rosso di Montalcino in Montalcino, or something like that. So it seems to me that because we are who we are and how we’ve come up in drinking culture and especially in wine, we came out of the Prohibition era with a big sweet tooth because all the wine that was being poured during Prohibition was kind of a sweet red wine. And when we started to actually learn about what fine wine was, we missed that one thing. We miss that everyday wine thing, the stuff that helps a culture build as a drinking culture. And you don’t just build as a drinking culture, like, “OK, we drink fine wine now. It’s all we do.” So this seems to me a great moment in our history of wine, is that we have now created this thing. We call it the red blend.

A: Yeah, just the red blend.

K: Just the red blend. And what it is, is it’s like, “Hey, every year the blend is going to be different.” Because I talked to Deb Juergenson. She is the winemaker at Apothic. And that wine is always smooth, always chill, always plush, always deep. But she changes the blend every year based on what they get. So it’s like it’s our version. Even though they can get — I don’t know what The Prisoner, I don’t know how much that bottle costs nowadays. But in our range of what’s available, what we’re willing to pay for for everyday wine, the red blend is now there for us to have that everyday drink instead of freaking out, stressing out every night about buying something that’s fine wine for dinner. Does that make sense?

A: Yeah, man. So here’s what I think it’s interesting. Because first when you’re talking, I of course looked it up, so it depends on where you buy it. But from most places, The Prisoner is $55 a bottle.

K: That’s not inexpensive.

A: No, but I think for red blends, it’s really interesting — whether it’s Apothic, which is, you know, a more everyday red blend, it’s more affordable, or it’s some of the other really amazing red blends that Orin Swift makes, obviously. So Phinney, when he left The Prisoner, he started Orin Swift. And Orin Swift makes a lot of red blends. For a lot of people, it hits everything they’re looking for. It has that power, it has the plushness. I think what’s interesting about red blends that I hadn’t thought about until you were talking, and I think it’s really interesting because we like to geek out on this kind of stuff, is we always talk about Malbec is the wine that became popular without the help of the wine industry, if that makes sense. It wasn’t a wine that was really popular. The red blend, actually, is truly that wine. We sat here being wine writers and journalists, whatever you and I do, being like, “Oh, it’s Malbec.” But actually Malbec in a lot of ways was very traditional in the way that it still came out. I mean, yeah, fine. In America, maybe it became popular through the people and through wine shops, but in Argentina and things like that, it was still very highly touted by sommeliers and stuff.

K: Well they didn’t give us any. Initially, they drank all of it. Until like the ’90s.

A: Exactly. But in the U.S., the red blend is 100 percent a wine that became popular because of consumers. It is the people’s wine. It’s the best way to describe it.

K: Cool. That’s very American.

A: Yeah it is. It’s this phenomenon. And I think it’s really cool because you can’t define it. As you’re saying, I didn’t know that about Apothic. That’s crazy. That every year the blend is different. I mean, that is very much “I’m going to use the best things that are available to me to make the best wine I can,” as opposed to having to use this grape or that grape. That’s what’s so interesting about the blend, and the reason that I caught you and said you can’t say American red blend anymore is that that used to be true. But now you are seeing entrepreneurial winemakers around the world who are saying, “Huh. There’s something here.”

K: Especially Argentina.

A: Yes. And also, I’ve seen it now in Australia, too. They are now making — mostly, of course, New World wine regions. Can we say that term anymore?

K: I think so. It sounds a little bit.

A: Yeah, but so we are seeing now red blends coming out of Argentina. We’re seeing red blends coming out of Australia, and it’s all the same idea. And it all is kind of that same profile we’re talking about: lush, plush. And the word that consumers use that the trade doesn’t: smooth.

K: Smooth.

A: And I think smooth is the most interesting word to me. And like you can have a whole podcast about what smooth is.

K: I know. I know.

A: But smooth is this word that every time, when you and I first started really digging on wine, going to the wine festivals and teaching and stuff there together, that’s the one word we used to hear every single consumer say: “Oh, I love this wine. It’s so smooth.”

K: Right.

A: And if you were ever to talk to a WSET-trained —

K: They hate it.

A: Or they don’t really know what it means, because they don’t use it.

K: It’s rejected. I should say it’s rejected.

A: Right. They weren’t taught that, they didn’t come into wine using the term. And it’s one of these things that is such this, like, disconnect, because I think because wine professionals don’t know what that term means to most consumers, they don’t know how to fulfill what that consumer is looking for. And basically what that consumer is looking for is what you said. To me, “smooth” is the red blend. It is like this wine that is luscious and plush and ripe and very low in tannin with a nice amount of acidity that is not super-high acidity. But that has acidity. So it’s not a flabby wine, but it is a wine that is very easy-drinking even at a high alcohol content.

K: And it goes with burgers, pizza, steak. It can go with pasta.

A: Yes.

K: It can go with hot dogs. Pretty much everything you would drink with a red wine, a red blend will go there.

A: Exactly. And I think the most interesting thing about red blends is the beginning of the red blend was also the beginning of the change in behavior amongst American consumers, where a lot of people were choosing wine at the end of the day in the way they used to have a cocktail or beer, meaning sans food.

K: Right.

A: And I think that is also where the red blend also comes in, where, as you said, it goes with everything. But if you chose to pop on Netflix and pop a bottle of Apothic, it would be fine.

K: Yeah. Pairs with “Bridgerton.”

A: It’s funny, I knew you were going to say that. But yeah, it pairs with “Bridgerton.” So it’s like that is really what has been so interesting about the red blend. And this year you saw in just sheer data the interest, especially the pandemic of it, just skyrocket. I mean, still behind; you’re not going to knock King Cab off the throne.

K: Right.

A: But just behind it.

K: Yeah, I read that Cabernet Sauvignon is by far No. 1. But the second category for wine, not just the grape, but as wine — the second category is red blend. I think up until 2014 or something like that, the term red blend was lumped into the “sweet wine” category. The Nielsen data wasn’t even looking at red blend, but since it has, it’s increased over like a three- year period. It just keeps on increasing, increasing, increasing in popularity, and it just can’t be ignored now. And I think it’s so great that we have this, and it’s weird. I know that people would try to copy big oak to please the Parker thing back in the day. But it’s very interesting how now, other New World regions are sort of — we’ve spent a lot of time in America from the beginning until now just trying to emulate what happened in Europe. That’s a lot of what happened back in the day. And then we slowly but surely figure out our own style in the ‘90s using these big, oaky red wines. And we kind of backed away from that. But we still have that structure in our lives. And it’s very interesting how now it seems like places like Argentina are looking at what this red blend is. And now they’re trying to say, “OK, we know what Americans like. They like the smooth, rich, red blend. We’re going to try to now create something that’s similar to that.” And I think that it’s a major success. I mean, Santa Julia has a Malbec-Cab Franc blend. It’s called Mountain Blend. It’s their red blend. It’s awesome. It’s like $12.

A: Yeah.

K: That’s another thing. I know The Prisoner is expensive, but isn’t it true that most of these red blends are pretty affordable?

A: Yes, they’re pretty affordable. They’re usually $10 to $20. But that’s the thing is that I think what people are showing is, OK, you have some of those. But then you do have these much higher-priced ones that are more premium, and I guess what I’m trying to say is it’s a flavor profile now that people have gotten used to and like, both as a more everyday bottle as well as one of these bottles that when they go to the steakhouse they would order and they would like. And I think a lot of the things with red blends that people also appreciate is they pretty much pop and pour at whatever price range. They are wines that are good to go the second the cork is popped. You’re not as worried about the things that might come along with Cabernet and what was the vintage? It’s very different in a lot of ways with the red blends, because they can blend so many different things in to achieve the profile they’re looking for in any given year. Again, no rules.

K: And it’s not easing into some sort of complexity and tertiary aromas. What it’s doing is enduring.

A: Exactly.

K: So The Prisoner is a few years old or 10 years old. It may not have changed into a very kind of brickish, beautiful wine, but what it is instead is like this wine holds. You can have this wine in 10 years. It may not be complex, but it’s going to be a little bit more solid. That’s it. It kind of feels like this is just a good, solid wine. But then again, these wines aren’t aging. They are ready to drink now. That’s why you have that sort of everyday feel. We finally, as Americans, have everyday red wine to drink that’s actually really good and smooth and easy. And we can say smooth. I think the wine industry needs to get used to that word. The science of smooth. We gotta get it.

A: Yeah, man. So that’s red blends.

K: Wow. Man, thank you so much for coming in. I guess it’s cool you came to my podcast because I got some info, so thanks a lot.

A: Yeah. Man, I appreciate, you know, somehow winding up here.

K: Yeah. I don’t know how you got here. All right thanks a lot.

A: You’re welcome.

K: So there it is. I think we have in America, finally, for the first time in our history, a category that defines our everyday, easy-drinking style. It took a while, but here we are. So red blends, they’re fun, they’re expensive, they’re not expensive. But they’re always plush, soft, smooth, and ready to drink. And that’s an awesome American innovation. You’re welcome.

@VinePairKeith is my Instagram. Review this podcast wherever you get your podcasts from, it really helps get the word out there. And now for some totally awesome credits. “Wine 101” was produced, recorded, and edited by yours truly, Keith Beavers at the VinePair headquarters in New York City. I want to give a big ol’ shout-out to co-founders Adam Teeter and Josh Malin for creating VinePair.

And I mean, big shout-out to Danielle Grinberg, the art director of VinePair, for creating the most awesome logo for this podcast. Also Darby Cici for the theme song. Listen to this. And I want to thank the entire VinePair staff for helping me learn something new every day. See you next week. See? Totally awesome credits.

This episode of “Wine 101” is sponsored by Apothic Wine. From rich red blends, to an alluring white and a rosé with dark secrets. Apothic makes wine that is anything but ordinary. Ignite your curiosity with Apothic red, the intriguing red blend that launched the Apothic legacy. And yeah, there’s a sly, roguish wink to every one of our bottles, because we think a good wine, like a good time, should mix things up a little. I mean, bold nights call for rebellious wine. Apothic Wine: There’s mischief in the making.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article Wine 101: American Red Blends appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/wine-101-american-red-blends/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/wine-101-american-red-blends

0 notes

curious-minx · 5 years ago

Text

A simple man accidentally joins Qanon.

I am looking for the trunklike opening of a cavern that is promising a hermitage of monks. Instead, I accidentally got recruited by Qanon.

I only ended up with them because I thought the rough looking recruiter woman with desperate destruction in her eyes said “Qui-Gon Jinn.” He is a real big influence on my overall look. The recruiter grabbed me by the pip of my ponytail and gave me a fierce rub down. She did not manage to extract anything from me because she wasn’t looking for anything special for me, I was basically cornmeal to her. A necessary means to an end. I try to quickly terminate my contract with the Qanoners, I’m a goner.

There is no mesh bag thrown over your head. I watch myself get dragged and kidnapped. I stand outside of myself and spit on myself. I hope I rot in Qanon mud club basement for all I care. Alas, I am very much chained to my corporeal form and rejoin back inside my raging crunching bones being dragged across an empty gymnasium. Old prom decorations are adorning the rafters; the apparent theme is Trapped In The Closet. This dates the decorations as a typical early 00’s macro-aggression. What do these people want with me? I try to remember all of the rest of the who’s, why’s, what and how I should be trying to grasp at as I continue to be dragged onwards and onwards. How large can the expanse of this gym be? Every time it looks like I am approaching a halfway full court circle the room seems to grow further in distance. A very roomy and interactive treadmill.

My assailant snaps her head around and with a tension in her throat, she croaks, “Aren’t you going to put up a fight?”

“I’ve been dragged longer.” I respond. I am not trying to be cheeky. I am stating a clear fact, but she begins dragging me faster and faster. The gymnasium becomes a bleak parking lot full of abandoned cars full of bloody empty car seats and cabbage patch doll sitting on top of smashed dash boards. The texture of the ground changes from glossy and buffed gymnasium wood flooring into typical pavement. I am starting to bleed more than I am comfortable with.

“Alright I give. Please stop. Enough.”

“Look we’ve reached our hide-out. You’ve passed, you’re a real Qtie.”

“You don’t call yourselves that.”

“Fake news to you too.” This woman with her exacting haircut sounds really tired. Maybe a tad attention starved as well. I don’t feel any sexual pleasure being dragged and humiliated by her, I just feel like she really needs a win. This is certainly not the forested idyllic hermitage haven where I could be with men who made soap and floral craft beer. I had to get out of here. The only way down is up.

“I could use a doctor. Are there any any Qute doctors.”

“No one reveals their civilian lives here. Cut that shit out. Throw those lives away when you commune with Q.”

Quetzalcoatl have mercy on my soul. I am starting to remember a vague idea of what these Qanon people about. I have been taking sketch comedy writing classes and people would occasionally mention these group. I don’t see how these people are funny anymore. These people are monsters. I hate being surrounded by only white people. And as my captor cum guide peels back the security layers of bricks and mortar sealing away their underground den I try to appreciate the outside as much as possible. I am not sure if the sky is still a simulation, but the sky is disappointing tonight. There are some parts of the country that are like this. Rarely if ever a nice night sky to look up. Clearly these safety sign orange skies add up to a lot of restless white supremacists, apparently. These people always want so many excuses for their behavior.

What kind of people are Qanon? They are not hicks. They carry glints of rolodex watches and sweaty pit stained polos. I know which way the khaki blows and it’s directly into my stake. I’m aiming for where it really hurts. I have no stake, I only have my torn and bloodied office attire and swelling inner violence. The sex cult accusations robbed me of my trust of Tom Hanks and for that they must pay. A man inside of a muscular blow up suit in the shape of a gimplike strongman is wheeled out onto stage. The woman who was dragging me tenderly injects his arm with a substance in the manner of heroin. That is if heroin is a slightly glowing gooey substance. A wet and warbling voice sputters out from inside of the man inside of the man.

“War! All out full blown war. There is no other option.”

“Yes Q!” mummers and sputters out the rest of the room. No one is saying the letter with bravado, everyone is saying it like a dirty secret for them and them alone.

A large man with the odor of bleach wearing nothing but overalls is carrying a steel suitcase and has come up to stand next to Q. Q begins to sputter and groan. The woman has begun strapping him to a chair, wrapping him so tightly that his arms immediately bruise and purple. The man opens the suitcase and begins rapidly assembling a preteen girl. The sort of tomboyish puckish preteen girl with a slight gap and whistle between her teeth, she is adorable or at least she becomes adorable once the the man snaps her head into place.

“Sp-sp-sp-spppppeak!” Q burbles he sounds like he is swallowing his own tongue back into his pinpoint shaped head.

“This man touched me! This man raped me! This woman tried to abort me! This woman helped child predators. This woman is a child predator. This man fucked me every which way. I no longer know what’s real anymore. What am I? This is so fucked up man! I’m losing my mind!” The preteen girl begins to scream and sob. With every accusation thrown out Q’s two main assistants have thrown out portraits of Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, AOC, Judy Blume, Oprah, and Paul Rudd. The rest of the room begins whispering the letter Q all over again, this time more confident.

Q’s two assistance look like they are going to come in for a group hug with the girl and they do, but when the man and woman meet together the girl immediately collapses into a pile of limbs. The suitcase closes and the man scurries off like a child during a panty raid. The woman begins scanning the room while she smashes chapstick across her trembling lips. Despite knowing exactly where I am standing because I have been firmly planted and transfixed in rictus horror as I try processing this spectacle she makes a big showcase with her eyes when gaze bores into me. I try to do the look side to side, “Who, me?” routine but two sausage fingered women with ballcaps pulled over their faces push me from behind and up onto the stage with Q.

“How do you do Qties and of course you too Q?”

“You don’t speak to Q!” Says the woman who is now starting to blend and blur together with the rest of these agitated pale faces. As I decent white person I can only handle being in the approximate of so many white people, the saturation point has been completely shattered.

I swear I see a greasy wide, chode tongue lick the rubber lips in the depths of Q’s costume. The suit begins squeaking and falls deflated onto the ground. There is no trace of the man called Q. I appreciate a good vanishing act by trying to throw up. The woman acts like she’s mad at me like I am some sort of noble house cat regurgitating on her Pendleton, she’s crowding up at me and getting in my face. She speaks, her breath smells like fuel.

“Your lucky he likes you fella. We don’t do this for all the boys.” Of course, the bleach man comes back this time reeking of chlorine as well. He’s riding a rolling dentist chair using his leg to push him along like a scooter. He reaches the lip of the stage and without any effort sweeps the dental operatory chair onto the stage as well. I am not liking where this is going and try to make a break for what I believe to be the exit.

The man scoops me in his wretched hairless and freckled arms.“Hold up. Q likes you.”

“There is no doubt that he likes him. Q accepts everyone who looks a little bit like Jesus.” The once tired woman now suddenly seems completely rejuvenated. The puffy bags under her eyes are glistening. The joys of dentistry. She pulls out a completely golden drill. A satin sheen gold that looks like no spray can job. My head is held back and my tooth is extracted and held up under the expectation. The rest of the crowd of Qties have more or less dispersed and are murmuring to one another over hunched over rings of phone lights. The jukebox plays Ted Nugent with pitched and slow down vocals to fit the anonymous motif.

Bleach and chlorine man takes my tooth and skips off in the manner of a fairy tale character but returns quickly this time. He is still carrying something but his hand is cupped and I cannot see if it’s my tooth.

“You’ve grown awfully quiet. Are you taking it all in? Do you see what this is truly all about?”

“Yeah you guys have a real serious project going on. This seems like an immense job. I want to help out in any way I can.”

“You won’t. You’ll forget you ever saw this place. You’re lucky to make it out alive, luckier still to not end up on a sex offender registry. Q has different plans for you. Now go follow the trail of innocent blood and open your mouth.”

“Again?” As I say this the woman sprays me with a slightly acidic and fizzy tasting spritz that makes the roof of my mouth feel dense. The feeling gradually dissipates as I stumble down through the gallery of wretches and human refuse that is populating the joint. Sure some of these people probably have legitimate struggles and a hard working background, but there’s a lot of corrupted doughiness to go around. Not chubby. Chubby people are full of joy and adventure, this was more of a kind of excessive candle wax flesh coating these people, mostly the men. The women were of more stripes. Some look like innocuous librarians or Sunday School cheerleaders or Boss bitches. The whole gambit.

I reach the exit. The bleach chlorine man is already waiting for me. He wrings out a blindfold that was bunched up uncomfortably close to his groin. I am not a homophobic man. I appreciate the smell of a musk, there is a refined strain of dick cheese out there, and a man this overwhelming chemical should have a sterile blindfold. Except he is wringing this blindfold out. Some kind of liquid is dropping on the floor, but before I can make out what drips have dropped my eyes have been folded into the blinds. There is no graceful exit.

After much leaves are rustled. Drivers negotiating with the bald patches of darkness dotting the byways and leeways of my swampy homeland. I purposely made a trip out of joining the monks. I didn’t want to join a local enclave so I made sure to cross several state lines. Once I can smell the odor of burning leaves do I realize I have actually been driven all the way to my backwoods home. The home I tried so hard to leave behind. A light has come on and my parents, older sister and the gentleman trying to pretend to be our maid all come out all wearing various robes and sleepwear, arms crossed in unison. I finally take off my blind fold.

“Christ almighty I didn’t think you were alive. I thought I was doing another corpse drop off. Get the fuck outta here. Cant afford any bad luck, fuck!” He drives his miserable reliable fiat as fast as it will go and when my family discerns that I am more or less in one piece they march single file back inside. I sit outside on the perpetually damp cushioned porch swing and sway myself into a woozy and necessary sleep.

///

My tooth, my back right molar is sprouting sinister veins of terrible pain throughout my jaw. I cannot speak. I am rendered a strong, silent handsome type. I refuse to accept these parameters. People love my reedy and oaty mellifluous voice. Remember how much I look up to Qui-Gon Jinn? Good, it should give you idea of what I’m dealing with. I am in my basement bathroom. Always the basement dweller never the chic chateau bachelor. I take a bottle of vodka, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a bottle of mineral water. I slosh them together in a plastic watering can that I use to sustain my miserable array of jungle flowers.

My older sister, Cottontail, has arrived with my mail and more. She says this unlabeled package was delivered by a woman that could only be described as a real Karen. My sister then reminds me how much she hates using that sexist phrase but she calls them like she sees them. Cottontail gives me an overly long slab of sustained eye contact, and then she asks about the violence across my face. I wave her away, I begin tearing into the envelope. The jutting dental pain makes the process of opening the envelope feel like a real superhero pal adventure, an overly long and painful slog. After several bouts of muffled screams of agony and several miles of drool streaks of blood I get into the envelope. How do I have so much blood in my body? Inside the envelope’s interior flap is bold and American flag covered Q. There’s a sugar and carmel dusted pretzel shaped as a Q inside of the envelope and a note that says, “Take a bite out of this.”

Merely reading the word bite causes a castanet snap of bile in my throat, but I hold the pretzel up to my mouth. I realize that it is not a pretzel and that the brown coloring is made from the dark brown crystal sugars. The entire Q is made out of sugar. Maybe one bite will give me the quick and lethal kind of diabetes? I chomp down and am met with a surge of relief as soon as the sugar crystals sing and fizzle in my mouth pooling around the suspect molar. All pain has been wiped clear as long as I keep the sugar flowing.

I must have all the candy under God’s gaseous and toxic land. I run up to the candy striper and shake her by the shoulders and tell her I need my sugar rush! Q has sent me! My face and a negative circle of the banned lines nearly every location sugary confections are sold.

#surreal fiction #surrealism #short story #fiction #weird fiction #qanon #fuck quanon #qanon explained

0 notes

nigeiadigitalmarketingcompany · 6 years ago

Text

Politics is Show Business for Ugly People…

Digital Elixir Politics is Show Business for Ugly People…

“It’s too late baby Now it’s too late” –Carole King

Politics is show business for ugly people. And you’ve got to play by show business rules.

Show business is all about preparation, getting the act, song, movie, TV show, ready and then marketing it so people will be aware of it and buy it.

And you always want to be first, and you want to eliminate all chance.

You want an upward curve, even if you start low and slow.

You want no lulls. You want to keep people interested, by teasing them with new information on a regular basis.

You want to control the narrative.

And what is the narrative the Democrats are trying to sell?

Damned if I know. The only thing they can agree on is they hate Trump. I hate KISS, but that doesn’t keep them off the road, playing to empty arenas, their fans support them. And speaking of KISS, Gene Simmons is one of the greatest marketers of all time, a complete blowhard, but he’s making it work for himself and the band. Maybe he learned it all from Neil Bogart, who changed his name from “Bogatz,” to give the right “impression.” Bogart failed on his first attempt, trying to sell a record of Johnny Carson routines, it went instantly into the cut-out bin, but then he pivoted to disco and Donna Summer and KISS.

And Bogart was a showman, full of crap. Seemingly everything he said was inflated and wrong. Remember when there were four simultaneous KISS solo albums and Neil said they were instantly gold? The press bought it, even though all of them but Peter Criss’s came back.

You see it’s all about perception. Sell the myth, not the facts.

It’s more important that Elizabeth Warren be seen as a fighter against the man than any specific policy position. People don’t go that deep. CONGRESS doesn’t go that deep! Did you read the “New Yorker” story on Al Franken? His accuser told boldfaced lies, there was history disputing her account, but she got out there first and what she said ruled, even though she was working for a pro-Trump radio station. Once again, the Democrats reacted, and now they’re doubling-down, can’t see why they were wrong. Kirsten Gillibrand, YOU’RE HISTORY!

The press said Trump was losing because he brought up the “i” word before the Democrats. But Trump knows you get ahead of the blowback, you make the first punch, and you load the media with so much b.s. that it can’t keep up.

Meanwhile, the public doesn’t know the difference between impeachment and conviction and Pelosi seems as old as she really is. She’s Perry Como after the Beatles. Doesn’t she realize THE RULES HAVE CHANGED?

Happens in entertainment all the time. Suddenly you can’t sell hair bands. Suddenly hip-hop is burgeoning. And if you fight the tide, you drown. Oh, little fish can still swim in their own private backwaters, but if you’re playing for everything, if you want to run the table, you’ve got to be looking to the future, not the past!

Trump speaks to the public. Pelosi speaks to insiders.

That’s why AOC gets so much traction, she speaks to the public-at-large, it’s less about legislation than attitude, which is move over you old farts and let the younger generation take the reins, you oldsters have no idea what is going on anymore!

But Team Pelosi says you’ve got to run to the center, because you’ve got to appeal to those districts that flipped for Democrats in 2016. That’s like making Aerosmith play acoustic, and refusing to let them play new material.

Of course, Aerosmith doesn’t play new material, and Chris Christie is a big Boss fan. It’s kinda like long hair. Once upon a time it symbolized something, you were either for us or against us, then it was just a fashion choice.

Anyone who plays to the rearguard is always disrupted. Didn’t you ever read Clayton Christensen? Everybody pooh-poohs the new, saying it’s not as good as the old, and then it becomes better and the old folds overnight. Christensen says to embrace the new, and then eliminate the old when the new gains traction. The DNC is being disrupted and their answer? Let’s go back to Good Ol’ Joe. That’s like asking your grandfather for music advice.

So what we’ve got is candidates who want to throw the baby out with the bathwater and the Democrats are freaking out, they can’t even get aligned on one position. Criticize the Republicans all you want, but after Trump they all got in line. That’s how you win, when you play like a team!

And if you try to appeal to everybody, you lose. The road is littered with middle of the road artists, who fail on the chart and play to a dwindling audience in Branson and clubs. You want to get people EXCITED! That’s what Warren and Harris and Bernie and Buttigieg are doing.

And what does the establishment say?

THEY’RE TOO FAR LEFT!

AC/DC was too heavy until suddenly they weren’t. “Back In Black” is still streaming prodigiously today, “You Shook Me All Night Long” is an American anthem! Of course Mutt Lange helped. The right has Karl Rove, who do we have on the left?

So the reason you wanted impeachment is so the whole world would watch, so Trump’s bad behavior, criminal or not, would infect the public. When the truth outs, it’s hard to deny.

But no, it was never time. Pelosi and her pals are like a Silicon Valley outfit that never releases its product. It’s so busy getting it right that it can never come out. Meanwhile, Facebook becomes so big by having a motto of “move fast and break things.” Forget that Zuckerberg is the enemy now, he’s on top of the pyramid, he controls the conversation more than not only Congress, but the mainstream media! Furthermore, he just pivoted, saying it was about private conversations, when the Democrats are still looking for that elusive consensus. Everything worth paying attention to starts off the radar, small, and then it blows up and BECOMES THE MAINSTREAM!

So Barr says Trump is innocent.

The Dems folded their tent.

Then Mueller sends his letter and they think…wow, maybe there’s something here. Like a band the label has stopped working that is suddenly selling tickets…the label is on to something else, it’s hard to get it restarted on your old product.

And then the Democrats placed all their hopes on Mueller testifying. That’s like taking someone with a great record, who’s never been on stage, and having them headline Coachella! No one would do that, the odds of failure are too high.

So Mueller didn’t deliver. Oh, don’t make it about Russia, the Dems thought Mueller was gonna blow a hole through the curtain, reveal that Trump was culpable and should be charged. Not only did Mueller not do this, he said as much after he delivered his report earlier…this was his final statement!

And the Dems are playing by old rules and crying to the nonexistent refs that the Republicans are cheating. No, Trump and his posse have invented new rules, like no one in the regime needs to testify. When they up the ante, so do you! You don’t say there’s no crying in baseball!

So now, on left wing radio, all the talk is about getting the transcripts from the grand jury. God, even in the NFL when you lose, you lose, no matter how heinous the call. Because without rules, you’ve got no game.

And that’s what’s happening now, WE’VE GOT NO GAME! Trump and his cronies are running ragged and the Dems and the media are so flummoxed, they do NOTHING!

Come on. Even the most lame influencer knows you’ve got to deliver product on a regular basis. You’ve got to hook the audience and deliver. That’s certainly what Trump has done, and all the left keeps saying is HE SHOULDN’T TWEET!

Meanwhile, these same wankers are posting to Instagram, the national pastime, and despite their constant disparagement of the internet and Twitter, Twitter is where the news happens, and if you’re not on it, you don’t know what’s going on.

So impeachment failed in the marketplace. It’s like Annapurna, Megan Ellison’s movie company. No matter how great the film, and she’s put out plenty, they never reach expectations. “Booksmart,” one of the best-reviewed movies this year, which appeals to oldsters and youngsters…dead. Product is only one part of the puzzle, you need the aforementioned marketing. The big studios may put out lame films, but they’re experts in marketing them.

When you fail, you write it off. Just look at the Fortune 500, that’s what they do. Did Bezos try to improve the Fire phone? No, he deleted it from the catalog. And today, your mistakes don’t haunt you as long as you continue to play and make noise. Once again, the game has changed, there’s so much noise that the biggest challenge is just reaching the public. And if you don’t, people forget what you were selling, they’re inundated with new messages.

And I’ve used a plethora of metaphors here, but now I’m gonna use one more. Pro football used to be a running game. Now running backs make a fraction of what they used to, all the emphasis is on passing and receiving! You change with the times!

Seems like everybody can change with the times but the Democrats.

So forget impeachment. This is the gang that can’t shoot straight, even if they have clear evidence that Trump needs to go, the right will spin it otherwise and rule the marketplace, i.e. public opinion. And just like a record, you don’t have to appeal to everybody to win. How come Trump knows this and the Democrats don’t?

Instead of clinging to the past, trying to rebuild the old edifice, it’s time to build a new one. And there are a number of candidates promising this. Safe rarely succeeds. Can you say Romney? Can you say Kerry! One of the reasons Obama won was because he HAD little history. There was little to nail him on and he promised hope.

Believe me, Ol’ Joe is not promising hope. He’s like a boomer musician waiting for Hilary Rosen to save them from streaming. But Hilary’s moved on from the RIAA, and streaming has already won, soon there won’t even be any hardware to play discs! Apple kills the iPod because the innards are no longer manufactured, and the Democrats keep trying to prop up oldsters, held together by baling wire. Bill Clinton had Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and her husband selling him, and despite baggage, he won anyway!

Who do the Democrats have?

Maybe it’s time to hire Bill Belichick.

Oh, that’s right, HE’S A TRUMPER!

~~~

Visit the archive: https://ift.tt/IH9kjT – @Lefsetz http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz – If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter

Politics is Show Business for Ugly People…

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2Ke24BQ via IFTTT

#Digital Marketing #SEO #Social Media Marketing #Nigeria Digital Marketing Company #Lead Generation

0 notes

newagesispage · 6 years ago

Text

NOVEMBER 2019

PAGE RIB

Look for the production of Boeing Boeing at the Hyde Park Opera House in Vermont. Director Gene Heinrich will bring the story on Nov. 8-10 and again the 15th -17th. Woo Hoo!

*****

Amber Guyser was found guilty and the strange part was the hugs she got from the judge and the victim’s brother.

*****

Robot Chicken is back for season 10.

*****

Days alert: Little Arianna is out.

*****

Word is that Mike Pence is behind the scenes working on health and human services. He has hired Alex Azar to revamp title 10 by putting $ into Obria which emphasizes abstinence. It’s sort of like a global gag rule. The conscious and religious freedom division helps medical workers who don’t want to help people if said patient lives against their faith.

*****

It’s been ruled that Northern Ireland’s abortion ban is a breach of the UK’s human rights commitments.

*****

The Native American Voting Rights Coalition has conducted hearings to get the lowdown on the trouble that exists in Native American voting rights. The barriers include poverty, closeness to polls and mailing addresses that include RR#’s and post office boxes. Let’s make the process easier for everybody. We should all be able to vote!

*****

Congresswoman Katey Hill is getting divorced and losing her position after photos of her with another woman and a bong surfaced.

*****

Tim Ryan is out!

*****

John Kelly warned Trump of impeachment.

*****

Trump’s brother Robert was awarded a $33 million government contract.

*****

Why do all the older stars want to dance their way on to a talk show?? UR hip, we get it!!

*****

What DOJ?? A criminal investigation into the origins of the Russia probe?? Seriously??

Did ya see the Fallon interview with Joaquin Phoenix? It just sort of shows how wrong Jimmy can be. I think Phoenix was ready to take over the whole operation.** Joker got the biggest October opening ever.

*****

Inside the Actor’s Studio is back.

*****

Matt Lauer was accused of the rape of Brooke Nevils and NBC covered it up. Anne Curry and others have stood up for Nevils. It seems the management at NBC has themselves been charged with their own misconduct and tried hard to keep Ronan Farrow from telling us all about it. Comcast, NBC and Noah Oppenheim are in a bit of a spot.

*****

The NBA is distancing themselves from the coach who tweeted support for human rights but then they apologized. China has been pulling merch and cancelling games. Many companies including Mercedes and Tiffany are really trying to keep China happy.

*****

Drew Barrymore will debut a talk show for CBS.

*****

Thru all the crap that Kathy Griffin went through, at least she now owns all her shit. See the new movie she made: A Hell of a Story

*****

ABC will bring us Craig Ferguson in the game show, The Hustler.

*****

If you haven’t heard Brittany Howard’s new Jaime album, do it now!! The song Stay High is so fab.

*****

Larry king is getting a divorce from Shawn Southwick King after 22 years.

*****

Zoe Kravitz is the new Catwoman.

*****

HBO is giving Sarah Silverman a late night pilot and a stand up special.

*****

Shep Smith is out at FOX. He shocked most everyone by leaving in the middle of his contract. He claims that it was his decision. Some say a WH rep visited with Fox management before the announcement.

*****

Pierre Delecto is the fake twitter account of Mitt Romney. ! ?

*****

The Nobel peace Prize was announced and will go to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.

*****

The Dem debate was the best yet. I am all for keeping it civil, Mr. Booker, but it is a fucking debate. I am glad they shook it up a bit. Mayor Pete did a wonderful job of imagining the world after Trump. I think he soared above them all this time. Tulsi Gabbard really stood out in her white suit. Since then there have been some illusions to her favor in Russia but her performance that night was great. Tom Steyer talked to the camera like a robot. I am all for his enthusiasm about impeachment but Drop Out! He kept spouting statistics. Yang always jumps right into his financial speeches but he and Bernie were so right about how we need to stop talking about Trump. It would be nice if they asked him more about foreign policy and such. But Yang knows how to give real examples of automation that we can all relate to like, McDonald’s and CVS. He not only talks of the truckers affected but of those who serve them as well. Bernie also talked about the much needed infrastructure. Biden seemed angry and defensive but he was right about a number of things. When the talking heads were asked if Biden did good, one answered that, “he was coherent.” Yikes! Once again, Warren won’t give us a straight answer about taxes and it is the thing that hurts her the most. Her “let’s be clear” is not clear enough for many. One of the things the average person has really come to hate is avoidance. She also blames more of the job loss on trade. I have to hand it to Klobachar, she was forceful and called people out. I loved her points on paper ballots, why isn’t everyone on board with this?? Castro had the best gun line of the night, “Police violence is also gun violence.” Harris and Beto held their own but did not stand out to me. If you put them altogether they would make a hell of a cabinet. What about Bernie and Buttigieg for Pres and VP. Warren to run the War dept., Yang the Treasury, Beto to run alcohol, tobacco and firearms, Harris for Sec. of State, Klobahcar for the FBI and Castro for homeland security. Just a suggestion.

*****

Former career diplomat Bill Taylor opened his inquiry questioning with a “beautifully written’ 15 page statement. Many later said the testimony was disturbing which elicited gasps. His words named names and connected the dots. Thank you Mr. Taylor for being a meticulous note taker and paper trail keeper.

*****

The State Department finally finished the internal investigation of Hil’s e -mails. They found 38 unidentified people were “culpable” in 91 cases of sending classified info that wound up on her personal server.

*****

Republicans stormed into a secure hearing room with recording devices for a show they were filming. Some of these very republicans are included in these closed door meetings and given the same time to ask questions as anybody else. The participants do have clearance so it gives them the right to do this. This stunt happened the day after Taylor’s testimony and after Trump asked his fellow republicans to do something. They blocked testimony for over 5 hours. Thanks for wasting our money. I guess their point was that they have no respect for our laws and traditions and they are very slimy.

*****

It was good to see Sam Donaldson back out there on the case.

*****

Hooray for the all- female spacewalk. Thanks Christina Koch and Jessica Meir.

*****

Bernie had a huge NY rally where he was endorsed by Michael Moore and AOC.

*****

Harrison Ford made an impassioned speech about climate change.** Jane Fonda was arrested on the 11th at a climate change protest for unlawful demonstration at the U.S. Capital. She vows to keep coming back.

*****

Homeland security secretary Kevin McAleenan is out.** Mike Pompeo’s senior advisor Mike Mckinley resigned and testified on the impeachment inquiry.** Rick Perry is out.

*****

Jennifer Lawrence has married Cooke Maroney.

*****

The Viola Davis produced, In A Man’s World looks interesting.

*****

This month in sexual harassment news: 43 new women have leveled allegations against Trump.** 3 new women have come forward about Cuba Gooding Jr. Word is that there are many stories of his grab ass tactics thru the years.

*****

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has released the names of this year’s noms which includes Pat Benatar, Dave Matthews Band, Doobie Brothers, Depeche Mode, Whitney Houston, Judas Priest, Kraftwerk, MC5, Motorhead, Nine Inch Nails, Todd Rundgren, Soundgarden, T Rex, Thin Lizzy and Notorious B.I.G.

*****

Stumptown on ABC is a great new show with that grit of the tough 70’s detective but with a chick. Nice! The cast is fab with Michael Ealy, Camryn Manheim and the sublime Tantoo Cardinal.

*****

The Prince estate was livid that the President used Purple Rain at a rally. “We will never give permission to President Trump to use Prince’s songs, “ a spokesperson said.** Queen has told Trump not to use “We will rock you” in his new campaign video.

*****

Where do I begin with Scary Clown 45? By the time a month has gone by all his insanity is old news. When we see his family and piers act like everything he does is normal, it shows how dysfunctional they all are. I can’t tell you how many families I have seen that would have been pretty happy groups if it weren’t for the mad man running the show. How can people act so entitled and want to help no one? Is it the water? Do they remember how much they gave grief to the Obama’s and Clintons? Are they scared of Trump or do they just love their money that much? How can so many be filled with so much hate and why do we always let them get by with everything? But it goes on… A DC court rules congress can see Trump’s taxes. The man is using our Justice Department to block a subpoena for his tax returns? Merrick Garland is the presiding judge over the circuit court. **The Ukraine thing started with Scary Clown giving a little quid pro quo to Zelinsky. Multiple whistleblowers have come forward and their testimony has been confirmed. He then told us to look at Pence, Rudy, Perry or anybody else he could think of. Pence plays stupid, Kurt Volker resigns, Rick Perry resigns** Now Trump has pulled troops out of Syria and betrayed the Kurds. We destroyed our own stuff so Turkey could not get at it. After Trump said there were no more troops there, actually there were about 1000. Now there is talk of sending some back after all the backlash. ISIS militants are now back on the loose. More troops are being sent to Saudi Arabia. ** Igor and Lev were arrested. ** Marie Yovanovitch testified against the wishes of the WH. Rudy claims that she was blocking him from his Ukraine shenanigans. Trump said that the former ambassador was”bad news.” Yovanovitch claims that she was forced out as a direct result of pressure from the boys.** A NY judge blocked the Trump rule to limit legal status for those who use public benefits. A Texas judge ruled that Trump’s use of emergency funds to build a wall was unlawful. ** John Bolton is starting to talk.

*****

Scary Clown called Nancy Pelosi a third rate politician n what they described as a meltdown.** Pelosi pushed thru a rules package for the impeachment as October came to a close.

*****

“If you support Donald Trump, don’t be afraid to get down on your knees.” Mrs. Pence

*****

720,000 acres of California public land will now be given over to oil and gas companies for fracking leases.** In better California news: Hooray for bill AB32 which looks to stop private, for profit prisons and immigration detention facilities. It’s about time!!

*****

The National Enquirer is threatening a libel suit against Ronan Farrow.** Trump has threatened to sue CNN.

*****

Arizona’s Joe Arpaio lost his lawsuit against CNN, the Huffington Post and Rolling Stone. Reporters called him an ex-felon but the judge cited a case which states that, ‘in the interest of free expression, there is breathing room when it comes to public figures.

*****

Professor Allan Lichtman has properly predicted the last 9 elections. He says he can’t make a decision until the impeachment predicament is worked out.

*****

R.I.P. Kim Shattuck, Diahann Carroll, Marcello Giordani, Ginger Baker, Rip Taylor, Robert Forster, Elijah Cummings, Scotty Bowers, Bill Macy and John Witherspoon.

0 notes

ramrodd · 6 years ago

Text

Listening to Elizabeth Warren reminds me of Adlai Stevenson. Are some people just too smart to be president?

COMMENTARY:

This is an excellent question. It’s exactly why I will never run for President.

My cousin Woody ran and won and his legacy is a very mixed bag. I went to Vietnam on the basis that I was the leading edge of the League of Nations, but I live in DC to try to stay as far away from white Southern Scots Presbyterians, who represent the absolute existential core of America whte supremacy, as possible. And, as a Christian, I prefer to avoid the economics of the Anti-Christ distilled in the Pro-Live Evangelical business model they generally embrace. It’s why so many of them send their children to DC with MAGA hats instead of tin foil.

Woody was smart as hell. My dad aspired to emulate him in the way Robert E. Lee attempted to emulate George Washington. I’m pretty smart, myself, but dad is really in a different league, number one, and, number two, he was probably an NT and I’m an SP and, in many was, he was from Mars and I was from Uranus. I have learned to consciously think like the way my did did like fielding a ground ball and my odd manner of acquiring knowledge has begun to pay off in my eight decade, but it’s been a long, strange trip.

Sometimes all you can do is to be willin’ to keep on truckin’.

Any of these people running could be a potent President of the United States. The Oval Office expands the capacities of the individual by literally channeling George Washington, spiritually, as an inheritance. It just does. Lincoln may be the only individual who came to office fully formed, but even he had to complete the 2 year learning curve compelled by the US Constitution.

It takes some people longer than others. JFK was as about on track, primarily because he was a very smart person in a Adlai Stevenson as PT Boat action figure kind of way. Once upon a time, Harvard produced scholars but, since the take-over of Columbia by the SDS in 1968, it’s become more of a vocational degree, like auto mechanics and HVAC engineers, than Oxford or Cambridge. There are still very smart people going through Harvard Yard, as a proxy for the American academe, but, when it comes to grand strategy, the post-modern dialectical deconstruction of the SDS forces a choice between the two wings of the Oliver Stone version of Vietnam, John Lewis Gaddis’s Kennon Long Telegram orientation on the one hand and Victor Davis Hanson’s relentless Churchhill oriented Fascist sophistry and you end up doing stupid things like the Obama Russian sanctions. Obama is a very smart man but he let himself be misled by the advice Hillary Clinton was being fed by Robert Kagan, the co-author of the Project for the New American Century that informed the invason of Iraq.

Obama likewise came to the Oval Office fully formed, but he was prevented from fully realizing his potential by a number of things, one being Mitch McConnell’s obstructionism, as a proxy for what has become the MAGA hat coalition of white Southern Scots Presbyterians who are pulling Duck Ass Don around by his dick in the way he learned to expect from Roy Cohn. Obama had absolutely no room to manuever after Rahm Emanuel squandered Speaker Pelosi’s gavel and the majority in the Senate, legislatively. Until AOC came along, the Democrats didn’t exhibit much spine and a great deal of appeasement if not out-right ideological collaboration with Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America. That was the biggest problem he faced and he got about as much out of it as possible,

But a more significant obstacle to his personal growth was Valerie Jarrett, who shaped and maintained the cacoon in which she ensconsed him. People who think like her in the Democrat conference are the biggest danger to the Green New Deal. As a business person, she is perfectly content with the Tory Socialism and class warfare of Reaganomics. The only difference between Valerie Jarrett and Condoleezza Rice, in terms of Russia, are their political patrons. Hillary Clinton and Laura D’Angelo Tyson fall into this catagory. As the leading edge of the ERA generation, they all played the hand they were dealt and represent the rising value added of the 19th Amendment and Title IX. They are the base line from which AOC has been launched, but they have become reactionary. And that’s what may have been the most profound inhibition on Obama in becoming POTUS. I’d vote for him and Hillary again because, unlike virtually any white Southern Scots Presbyterian male with an (R) behind his name, they can learn. And will learn. It just hasn’t started yet.

Elizabeth Warren falls into this generation on some issues, but, in terms of banking and securities, she represents important, if not necessary, financial structures of the Green New Deal. Finance is probably the greatest single fallacy of Marxism and the singular seat of the essential criminal intent of the Tory Socalism and class warfare of Reganomics and the macroeconomic populism of Donald Duck Ass. A HUGE difference between America in 1981, before Reagan, and the Soviet Union in 1981 was our banking system and securities milieu, both of which have been systematically corrupted by people in the GOP Deep State I associate with Donald T. Regan, Phil and Wendy Gramm, and Newt Gingrich. There are other Republican villians in the mix, but that’s a good place to start, especially when you toss in Roger Stone, Steve Bannon and Mick Mulvaney, the sort of creme de la creme of crypto-Fascist cesspool scum. If Elizabeth Warren could pass all the banking and securites legislation she desires by 2020, she would be able to hit the ground running to implement the Green New Deal without having to thing about it all that much,

In terms of learning curve, 43 didn’t really become his own president until he fired Rumsfeld and installed Bob Gates at DoD. In that respect, he had a 6 year learning curve. Until then, Cheney had basically dictatated national policy, especially in terms of Iraq’s oil. This fig leaf of spreading democracy is just that. At best, the invasion of iraq was a blunder of cosmic proportions but my personal opinion is that it was a war crime, pure and simple. The lesson Bush should have learned from Vietnam that his daddy did was to not invade Iraq.

Clinton’s Dayton Accords is the reason why the invasion of Iraq hasn’t been a bigger disaster for America and why I say Obama fucked up the US-Russian relations on the advice of Robert Kagan. Clinton should have been given a Nobel Prize for that project because it is exactly what the Marshall Plan was all about, especially as it pertains to George Kennan’s Long Telegram.

As I say, I went to Vietnam as the leading edge of the League of Nations, keeping a family heritage alive, and as part of the triangulation of the United Nations Blue Helmet Peace Keepers, the Peace Corps and the Greet Berets. We were in Vietnam to give those collateral agendas the space and time they needed to get traction, globally. Circumstances forced America to sacrifice the Republic of Vietnam towards that end, but the result, the collapse of the Soviet Union, has worked out well for us.

And the signing of the Dayton Accords in 1995 was the fruits of that grand strategy, in that the Treaty ending the Bosnian War was the first time an active conflict was put tamped down by the tactical peace keeping of the UN Blue Helments and then smothered by the combined UN Blue Helmets/NATO intervention made possible by the Dayton Accords AND the active acquiesence, if not enthusiastic participation, by Putin’s Russia. This project occurred in the TRADITIONAL Russian sphere of influence and it couldn’t have happened if they didn’t want it to, but it seems the Russians realized they didn’t have any solutions and they were willing to try something new. And when they handed over the keys to Prestinka Airport to the NATO column being led by Wesley Clark, it represented a brand new era in international cooperation. We couldn’t have conducted our operations against Terroism in that region without the strategic easement Russia continues to provide.

And this is what Obama fucked up. And he’s a very smart guy.

In regards to Donald Duck Ass, there doesn’t seem to be any constructive learning curve operating. He’s like the entire Roger Stone wing of the GOP, who are like bank robbers who get caught and go to prison but, instead of changing their ways, learn how to become better bank robbers. For example, these sanctions against South Korea, China, India, Turkey and Japan have nothing to do with any grand strategy beyond Duck Ass Don’s need to keep the Bull Market going and high prices for gas at the pump here, in the states. provides the liquidity that’s being sucked out by the 2017 Tax Reforms the markets need to keep the party going. Duck Ass Don is still running the lie, cheat and steal “Art of the Deal” pyramid scheme he has run his entire life. He has a certain genius in a Rainman kind of way but I think he understood, intuitively, at a very early age he isn’t smart at all beyond a certain animal cunning of the Brooklyn street thug with aspirations of being an uptown made man. And probably the real problem is that he has managed to surround himself with people who are even more stupid than he is, or willng to suppress their smarts for a paycheck and the future rewards that the GOP Deep State will provided once they are out of public service in the manner of John Kasich, David Stockman, Brett Kavanaug and Bob Barr before he blundered back onto the federal payroll.

By and large, Republicans have never produced an Adlai Stevenson: it’s a Democrat thing. Bernie Sanders is an example, the difference being that Sanders helped Democrats shake off the intellectual topor that had set in after the moral impotence of the McGovern campaign: McGovern was what Bernie Sanders would have been in 2016, but that’s changed. In terms of coalition building, Sanders ishe light years ahead of where he was in 2016 and in a different universe from where McGovern or Adlai Stevenson ever became.

Philosophically, that is to say, in terms of Democratic Socialism, Bernie Sanders and AOC are virtual clones, but all things Sanders are in the rearview mirror of AOC and her Green New Deal. The trade off is that, as President, Sanders and/or Warren are smart enough to implement the Green New Deal as it emerges while AOC, if she’s smart, will inherit the Speaker’s gavel and retire after a career of providing the constancy of purpose as the Green New Deal evolves as we advance past the dawning of the Age of the 19th Amendment.

And Adlai Stevenson could never have accomplished that. He wasted a great deal of energy spinning his wheels as an intellectual. Bernie was like that until 2016 BUT AOC came out of the chute with her big wheels posi-traction digging into with big chucks of dirt and the only thing really slowing her down is the ERA generation. She is the future of the ERA.

#transformingamericafirst

0 notes