#watched his interview with eric andre and hes so cool

[ozymoron]

dude mike pattons so cool

[asmallexperiment]

Lance Reddick: 1962-2023

I get that we call everyone who isn't maybe one of the 20 or 30 most famous actors on the planet a "character actor," and he was that--it would not be entirely unfair to describe him as "a character actor who played a lot of cops." But...Lance Reddick was just amazingly talented and seemed from the outside to be one of the good guys.

In saying "a character actor who played a lot of cops," it, to say the least, doesn't capture the whole of it. The Wire is my favorite television show and so I guess I would say he's best known as Daniels, who was mostly a man of few words, at least until more were necessary. I'm sure there is one, but I don't know that I've ever seen an actor play the mannerisms of a fictional character so far forward. And, while that sounds like an awful thing, the way Reddick did it was nothing short of brilliant.

But your frame of reference, given his career, could be entirely different. If you're a gamer, maybe you think of him more as Sylens or Commander Zavala. Both Bosch and Fringe share with The Wire the phenomenon of being underappreciated, at least in their own time (The Wire, obviously, has evolved into a thing, culturally, that it wasn't in its time). He also had that period where he spun on that reputation a little and did a bunch of comedic bits, including a legendary appearance on Eric Andre. And he did play a bunch of other cops, with appearances on L&O, CSI: Miami, Numb3rs...I think it must have been Oz where I first became aware of him, though he was also a cop in the episode In Excelsis Deo from The West Wing, which was, at least for a moment or two, regarded as one of the best hours of drama in television history (it's still very good, though I know some people think the show hasn't aged well and a lot of the people who are still on board would probably now go for Two Cathedrals, which came a couple years later).

And, of course, he's been a persistent presence in the John Wick movies. Just reading this bit from his interview with Vulture makes me like him and Keanu more than I probably should:

Speaking of Keanu, can you give us some insight into his personality?  I’m a journeyman character actor. And whenever I work with a big movie star for the first time, I keep my guard up to protect my work from an ego. And if there’s any big movie star who’s not that person, it’s Keanu. I remember my first scene that I shot with him — it’s the first scene you see us together in the first movie — he was struggling with the timing. I said, “Keanu do you want to do XYZ?” I don’t even remember what it was. And he kind of smiled and said, “No man, you just do your thing.” My experience with him after that continues to be one with someone who’s very generous as an actor and then all about the work. He’s also very shy. This is going to sound really weird, but — he seems simple, but spiritually he’s very advanced.

That makes perfect sense, actually.  He’s incredibly deep and insightful and thoughtful. But watching him in social situations, he can be like, “I can only take so much input from other people so don’t bother me.” Which is fine. He’s very shrewd. On one hand I feel like I don’t know him very well but on the other, I just adore that guy. He’s such a wonderful human being.

How has your friendship changed after four movies? We’ve gotten to know each other a little better. I hope I don’t get in trouble for telling this story: During John Wick: Chapter Four, my first day of filming happened to be Keanu’s birthday. But he wasn’t in the scene. He came to the set anyway at nine o’clock at night with his girlfriend who I had never met. And she is … can I say a bad word?

Go for it.  His girlfriend is cool as fuck. And she told me that she asked Keanu what he wanted to do for his birthday and he said, “I want to go see Lance.” He’d never done this before but he wrote me a note thanking me for what I brought to the character in these movies. And he wanted to give the note to me. I’ll never forget it. I’m going to cry now.

Even just opening Netflix last night, it was readily apparent that I wasn't the only one who wanted to go back and watch the man's work--I ended up opting for the first couple episodes of The Wire. So, to return to where I started, I understand that Reddick isn't Keanu-famous, but in the little world of my mind and the media I have liked over the years, his place in it is prominent enough to be that kind of superstar for me.

[adultswim2021]

Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law: #8 “Deadomutt Part 2″ | June 2, 2003 - 12:00 AM | S01E08

This one’s a little better than part one, but not by much. There’s a short section of the episode where it’s just a bunch of gags of Harvey being in prison and some of those gags are alright. But there’s a lot of shit before that that sucks. Birdman goes to trial for murder and loses. He eventually receives the death penalty, but when they throw the switch of the electric chair the walls rise up and it turns out to be a surprise party. Simpsons did it. Sealab did it. POST CLASSIC Simpsons did it. POST CLASSIC Sealab did it.

Can I just say, boy, do I miss fan sites. Somebody enthusiastic about a show would put together a geocities site that mostly just had information. Sure, you could download a .wav file of the theme song and maybe some choice quotes and OH! maybe they have a screen capture card that lets them take little 200x300 jpegs of the episode, and isn’t that something? But they’d usually have great episode guides where every reference, trivia item, or goof was poured over in great detail. Now you don’t really have that. IMDB has these sections, but people don’t tend to think about using IMDB for TV stuff, especially for relatively obscure shows like this. TV Tome was a pretty great broad episode guide site, but then another website bought all their data and launched a website with it and all the user-submitted synopses and trivia items disappeared when TV Tome folded, so you just get a site with episode titles and dates and a short message reading SYNOPSIS COMING SOON and what’s the fucking point, even?

If anybody knows of a good Birdman site, even one you have to access via archive.org, please let me know. I don’t know what the very obvious movie parody is when Birdman is nude releasing the butterfly. I’m sure I saw whatever movie that was, but I don’t remember it. PLEASE.

MAIL BAG

ALL FRIENDS OF MINE! I mean, ANONYMOUS!

It's fun to see stormy dig himself a hole he can't get out of.

You can say that again.

If you could "shoot the shit" with one adult swim creative who would it be? Also: If you could "shoot the shit" with one adult swim CHARACTER who would it be?

NONE OF THEM I don’t wanna have conversations with people!!! How DARE YOU! Uh, I guess Dave Willis seems like a cool guy to chat with. I enjoy his energy. But I’d probably most like to discuss gun ownership with Dan Harmon or reverse-racism with Justin Roiland because why would I ever want to pass up a talk with experts in their respective fields. Character? Trite response, but to be interviewed by Space Ghost is the absolute ultimate. Plus he doesn’t put bugs on you or whatever Eric Andre does.

I met a hot lesbian the other day and I was like Santa Clause in the M&M commercials all, "They DO exist" lol.

All women are beautiful and all M&Ms are TASTY! (CHOMP.WAV) throw this sexist pig outta here! (WOOSH.WAV)

I'm gonna ask now since this is like six ephemera weeks aways but were people mad when they briefly started showing Pee Wee's Playhouse? Were you? Do you like Pee Wee? Jambi just died...

Pee-Wee seemed to get a mostly negative reception, but not as bad as Saved by the Bell did. But I love Pee-Wee. I literally watched all of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse within this past year. I kinda lump Pee-Wee, the Amazing Stories episode of Brad Bird’s Family Dog, Bakshi’s Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures and of course the original Tracey Ullman Simpsons shorts to be kind of important precursors to The Simpsons and and all the stuff that spun out of The Simpsons, including Adult Swim. I’m honestly not sure how Pee Wee connects to all of this, other than the fact that it had fun animated segments and aired on the same network as Mighty Mouse. I just think it sorta belongs.

Please watch the new Bo Burnham special and tell me what you think I can't bare to do it myself and you voluntarily watch the Brak Show so it will be easy 4 you.

I simply do not want to! That will just have to do! I don’t even watch comedy specials!!!! I DON’T LIKE THEM

[ejzah]

The Agent and the Lawyer, Part 12

A/N: Hopefully this chapter isn’t too much of a mess, but I think it kind of might be. It’s been a bear to deal with. I based it around a modified version of “Little Angels” from season 2.

***

Deeks was sitting on the edge of his desk, facing Sam and Callen while they chatted. He’d finished all of his paperwork and setting up his online accounts. He now had limited access to several federal databases (of course only after being threatened with life imprisonment if he discussed the contents with anyone). There wasn’t much else he could do until someone gave him further instruction.

“So how’d the firearms training go?” Sam asked Deeks, smirking at him in a not entirely friendly way. Scratch that, there was nothing friendly about it. Deeks had known Agent Hanna would be a hard sell from the moment he met him, but he wasn’t sure why the other man had so much animosity for him. Even his lack of experience didn’t explain it.

“It went fine,” Deeks answered, resisting the urge to look over his shoulder. Kensi was talking with Hetty in her “office”. Likely talking about him. Somehow he didn’t think Hetty would be overly impressed with his progress at the shooting range.

If she made it a point of contention, he would reference his freshly signed contract, which made no mention of firearms training. He’d double checked.

“Really?” Callen said condescendingly. “So you fired inside the lines?”

“Yes.” Deeks wasn’t sure why he felt the need to defend himself. He didn’t even want firearms training. It would actually probably work in his favor if he played up on his lack of ability, but there was something infuriating about the two agents’ superior attitude. They immediately assumed he would fail and that annoyed him.

“Where?” Sam asked, his voice leading.

“Right shoulder,” Deeks said, not mentioning how close it had been to the very edge.

“Ha, knew it!”

“You do remember that this was my first lesson, right?” Deeks didn’t expect them to have any sympathy, and he was right.

“Deeks, I had better aim than that when I was a kid,” Sam said. And so had he, Deeks thought bitterly.

“Well to be fair, not all of us were overachievers,” Callen said, his tone teasing. He muttered something that sounded like “mathlete” under his breath and Sam glared at him warningly. “In any case, Deeks, I hope you’re seeing that this isn’t a game. It’s a hard job and it takes dedication.”

“Never thought it was,” Deeks said with a bitter smile. He saw Kensi coming back down and remembered their bet. While chatting, he’d been silently thinking of ways to distract her enough to make her touch him. Based on the past few weeks, it wouldn’t be all that difficult.

A piercing whistle echoed through the room, distracting him from his nefarious plans, and they all turned towards the stairs where Eric and Hetty were waiting. Each day Eric had announced his presence in a different, and often bizarre, way. Personally, Deeks preferred the day Eric had yodeled his way down the stairs. The song was unrecognizable and sounded truly awful, but Deeks appreciated the variation. Not to mention, the irritation on Sam’s face.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, make haste,” Hetty said gravely. Deeks followed everyone up the stairs, moving to the back of the room as Eric pulled up a man’s military ID on the big screen.

“Commander Jason Rehme designs and maintains the cryptographic logons used by the department of naval personnel with the highest security clearance,” Eric began.

“Commander Jason Rehme is missing,” Hetty added. “He had a department meeting at 0600. He never showed.”

“He hasn’t answered any calls, texts or emails.”

“Does NCIS normally handle missing person cases?” Deeks asked, wondering why a case like this wouldn’t be handed down to a lesser agency.

“The Commander isn’t just any missing person,” Eric answered. “Rehme has access to nearly all of the navy’s confidential information. He’d be a prime target for domestic and international terrorists.”

“Ok, that’s definitely not good.”

“Indeed, Mr. Deeks.”

“He’s been missing for an hour and a half,” Callen said, glancing at Eric. “Send me his last known whereabouts. Let’s move.”

“What do you want me to do?” Deeks asked as he jogged down the stairs behind Kensi.

“You can hang out with Eric,” Sam suggested. “Maybe he has some files that need to be burned or something.” Deeks frowned at the back of his head, pursing his lips.

“He really does not like me,” he muttered as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Kensi stopped beside him.

“He’ll come around eventually,” she said. She reached to knock his shoulder, but pulled her hand back at the last second before she made contact. “But until then, don’t try to annoy him too much.”

Deeks didn’t comment on that, watching as Kensi grabbed her Sig and slipped it into her waistband.

“Be careful,” he said, leaning towards her. Her eyes widened for a second as he dipped his head. “I wouldn’t want anything to interfere with our date.” Kensi’s lips parted for a second, her body drifting closer to his for a second. Then she abruptly pulled back with a smirk.

“I think you mean you don’t want anything to interfere with my tacos. Because I’m definitely not losing this bet.” She walked backwards for a few steps, looking extremely pleased with herself.

“Touché,” he shouted after her.

***

The three agents returned looking subdued, and on Sam’s part, extremely angry. He headed to Hetty’s office immediately without saying a word. He had a fierce, singleminded look about him that immediately put Deeks more on edge than he already was.

“We found the Commander, but his daughter-“

“Is missing,” Deeks finished for Kensi. “Yeah, Eric told me.” He’d also shown him the video the Commander received from Amanda’s kidnapper. The sounds of her panicked screams and pleas would likely fuel Deeks’ nightmares for some time to come.

“Do you have any idea who might have done it? Eric said that there was a guy who killed three other girls this way, but that he was still in prison.” Kensi shook her head, biting at her bottom lip.

“No. It has to be a copycat. We’re stalled right now because this is technically the FBI’s case. Sam’s asking Hetty to let us take over or at least assist the FBI,” Callen explained with a deep sigh. “This is not going to be a pretty case. And the longer this takes, the less time Amanda has.”

“We have co-lead on the case,” Sam said, jogging down to the bullpen. “Let’s see what Eric has.”

“The Angeles National Forest is close to 650,000 acres,” Eric said a few minutes later when they were all in the operations center. “If Amanda’s in there, finding her is going to be next to impossible.”

“What about using infrared?” Kensi asked.

“She’s buried, her body temperature is dropping. It’s not going to work.” Deeks silently watched as they tossed around suggestions, moving with a single-mindedness he’d yet to witness. He felt useless amidst the urgency.

“Can you bring up the kidnapper’s video again?” Callen requested. Deeks could have lived without ever seeing it again. Eric pulled it up along with the video of the other three girls.

“The camera angle’s the same on every one, same size box,” Deeks noticed, earning a surprised look from Sam who added,

“And those are the same blue surgical gloves.”

“I’d say whoever killed the first three girls also has Amanda.” No one contradicted him.

He took a step back again as Eric searched for the Chevy Malibu that had left the park in the wee hours. It was amazing how quickly they were able to narrow it down the owner once Kensi noticed the damage and link it to Lucas Maragos’ brother, Andre.

“Kensi, go out to the US penitentiary at Victorville and see if you can make some sense of this,” Callen instructed.

“And take Mr. Deeks with you,” Hetty added, silently stepping into the room as she observed the various pieces of evidence on the screen.

Kensi looked just as surprised as Deeks felt, but she didn’t question Hetty’s instructions.

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Callen asked. Personally, Deeks had wondered the same.

”This seems the perfect situation; I’m sure Deeks has interviewed many a criminal while in prison.” She looked to him for confirmation and he nodded.

“I have.” Just not ones who were serving life sentences for burying children alive. “I can handle it.”

“Good,” Hetty said, gesturing for them to go.

***

“So what do you want me to do?” Deeks asked, glancing around the cool jail cell. A guard had escorted them to the room a few minutes ago and directed them to sit at the table while he retrieved Lucas Maragos. It was oddly lit, the sunlight streaming through the window creating an almost sunset feel to the room. Somehow it only added to the overall creep factor.

Although he’d been a part of more serious criminal cases, particularly while he was finishing law school, he’d never defended a killer before. He wasn’t really looking forward to meeting a man capable of torturing little girls and their families.

Kensi didn’t respond, her gaze focused on her phone and he nudged her with his shoulder. She’d been mostly silent during the drive to the penitentiary. Although he’d felt the urge to break the tension with humor, he’d controlled himself. This wasn’t the time for distraction.

“Callen and Sam found the Malibu in Andre Maragos’ garage,” she told him, brows furrowed.

“That’s good, right?” Deeks asked. “I mean, it’s horrible in that this guy is probably a serial killer too, but it means that we’re closer to finding Amanda.”

“Andre and his wife claim they don’t know anything about the car. Supposedly their personal assistant is the only one who uses it. Callen and Sam are going to check out a camp in Angeles Forest that Andre and Lucas went to when they were kids.”

“That’s good, Kensi,” he said encouragingly. “It means we’re getting closer.” She turned to face him, her eyebrows drawn forward with worry.

“Callen also said that Eric calculated how much air is left in the box Amanda is buried in. It’s less than nine hours now Deeks. That’s not enough time,” she said, sounding distraught.

There was nothing else he could say that wouldn’t be a pointless platitude so he simply took Kensi’s hand and squeezed it. She smiled gratefully, squeezing back, her hand cool and firm in his.

“Wait a second,” she said after a second, her expression turning suspicious. She dropped his hand abruptly. “You’re trying to make me lose the bet, aren’t you?”

“That honestly was the very last thing on my mind,” he told her, amazed that she thought his mind was on anything other than Amanda at the moment. Kensi looked momentarily abashed before she gathered herself again.

“Oh, sorry. But keep your hands to yourself for now. We don’t want to give this guy anything to work with.”

“Which brings me back to my original question, what do you want me to do?”

“Just follow my lead.”

“That’s super helpful,” he muttered under his breath. Despite what most people thought, he liked to plan before he acted, particularly when it came to interviews.

The outer door buzzed and two prison guards brought Maragos through. His hands and ankles where both bound with chains.

Beside him, Kensi sat with her back perfectly straight, appearing professional and detached. There wasn’t a hint of the uncertain woman from a few minutes ago. It was amazing how easily she could flip that switch.

“Mr. Maragos, do you know why you’re here?” she asked, once the guards left.

“Another girl was kidnapped,” Marago said. “Which means that I might not have to spend the rest of my life in here.” His arrogance amazed Deeks and he couldn’t help himself from saying,

“It’s interesting that you know about her, given that you’re in prison and haven’t had any visitors in weeks.” Maragos just shrugged. For a second, Deeks thought he’d gone too far.

“Was the MO the same?” Maragos asked after a moment.

“Exactly the same,” Kensi confirmed.

“You got a partner on the outside?” Deeks followed up.

“Oh no. No, no, no,” he answered, his tone almost mocking which just fueled Deeks’ quiet rage. His resolution to follow Kensi’s lead was completely forgotten. “Check my call records and my email.”

“We did,” Kensi said shortly. “The only phone calls you make are to your brother Andre.”

Lucas Maragos shifted, showing the first sign of discomfort, if it could be called that, since he’d entered the room.

“Is that it? You and your brother like killing together?” Deeks wasn’t sure where the question had come, but he saw the slightest flash in Maragos’ eyes. It was enough to make him continue. “Yeah? Bury the girl and then sit there giggling with each other while they suffocate to death?” He heard Kensi inhale sharply, but didn’t look away from Maragos.

Lucas shook his head, glancing away, like Deeks’ words has somehow affected him.

“I didn’t kill those girls,” he insisted.

“Course not,” Deeks whispered. Maragos moved his hands, for what purpose he wasn’t sure, but Deeks felt a moment of sadistic pleasure when the chains prevented him from moving further. His jaw clenched, a hint of anger showing for the first time. Good, they were getting to him.

“Is there any evidence at all that points to my brother? He could have committed all these murders,” he suggested.

“Your DNA is all over the victim’s bodies,” Kensi said, her tone short and pointed.

“We’re related, the DNA’s gotta be close. Nobody checked my brother’s DNA.” Sighing, Kensi ignored Maragos’ attempt to distract them.

“You and your brother went to the same camp in Angeles National Forest. We think the latest girl could be buried there.”

“I help you find her, you reopen my case,” Maragos said. Deeks answered before Kensi could.

“You have nothing to do with it, sure.” Maybe it wasn’t his place to make promises, but he knew the importance of limitations. He’d seen enough guys get off because of loopholes. And he was 95% certain this guy was involved in the kidnapping and murders in some way.

“When we were kids, there were feral cats all over the place. Andre? Well, André used to spend hours catching them and strangling them.” It sounded like he was telling a bedtime story and Deeks felt his stomach clench. There wasn’t any sign that Maragos felt any remorse for his brother’s supposed actions.

“Wow, the golden summers of a sociopathic’s youth,” Deeks whispered. Kensi knocked his knee under the table. Maybe that had been going a bit far.

“I know where he buried them,” he insisted.

“Ok, then show us,” Kensi said.

“That was...impressive,” Kensi said half an hour later as they waited for Maragos to be loaded into transport. Deeks had wanted to draw up a legal document for Lucas to sign, making his offer to help binding. Kensi insisted that they didn’t need to, pressing time as a main concern.

“Yeah, sorry. I got a little carried away,” Deeks responded, scratching at his beard. She didn’t sound upset with him, but he had sort of hijacked the interview.

“You sounded a lot more like a cop than I expected.”

“Yeah, well, I guess I’ve spent enough time watching interrogations. And that didn’t seem that much different from when I have someone up in the witness stand,” he explained, then smirked at Kensi who looked worried and distracted again. “Of course, usually the witness is suing someone for scratching their Porsche or reneging on a business deal.”

“I’m glad you were there,” Kensi admitted, surprising him. “He gives me the creeps. If I was on my own, I might have punched his lights out.”

“Always happy to be of service. Any update from Sam and Callen?”

“They’re questioning Andre now. He wasn’t home last night.”

“Mm, well that doesn’t bode well for Andre. Hopefully Lucas actually knows where the body is and isn’t just taking the opportunity to get his first day trip in two years,” he said bitterly.

***

A/N: Obviously some event were changed or left out from the actual episode to suit my purpose. The next chapter will deal with the second part of the episode.

[aion-rsa]

Eric Andre Show Season 5: Lizzo To Guest Star on “Bird Up”

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

In the four-year gap between seasons of The Eric Andre Show, hundreds of bad television shows have come and gone. Some are still airing. When Adult Swim’s manic riff on the talk show format returns on Oct. 26, there’s one title that Eric Andre hopes to maintain: the “Bird Up” segment remaining the worst show on TV. “I hold that trophy high,” Andre says with a laugh in an interview with Den of Geek promoting the new season.

In an effort to keep that trophy on his mantel, Andre added some starpower to his fan-favorite man-on-the-street segment, “Bird Up.” He revealed that music superstar Lizzo appears alongside him for a green suit adventure in season 5.

“We got Lizzo in the Bird Up outfit this season,” he says. “We did Lizzo up. She was really good at it. She may be much better at it. She flourished. She got in that outfit, she brought her flute.” 

The singer joins distinguished Bird Up green suit alumni Hannibal Buress and Chris Rock. It turns out that signing on to what’s billed as the “worst show on TV” took precious little convincing for the rapper and singer, who earned eight Grammy nominations in 2020, including Album of the Year for Cuz I Love You. 

“We were friends with her before she was famous, so she’s good friends with my director.” So Lizzo being famous is crazy to us. So we just texted her: ‘Lizzo, come do the show’ and she was like, ‘Cool.’ That was probably the easiest casting.”

Esteemed comedian Chris Rock once directed “Bird Up.”

Musical guests have been a staple on The Eric Andre Show since its inception in 2012. More often than not, they’re tortured instead of playing their hits. It’s still unclear if anyone has seen Rick Springfield since his 2015 appearance on the show. Other musicians who have endured what Andre called a “haunted house” of a set include Tyler The Creator, Wiz Khalifa, Chance The Rapper, Henry Rollins, and T-Pain.

Like each season before it, season 5 of The Eric Andre Show sports a new set and wardrobe for its host. This time, Andre went for the complete opposite look of the grimy season four setup. 

“So the previous season, I lost weight. I got pale, I grew out my hair. I didn’t brush or wash my hair. I didn’t wear deodorant. I got really stinky. I didn’t wash my suit once, I grew out my fingernails. And the set was really ratty and disgusting and gray, it was like a Soviet prison,” Andre says. 

“And then season five, I wanted everything the opposite. It was a ritzy and rich set, I wanted the set to be Liberace inspired. And I got rid of all my body hair, I waxed my pubic hair, I shaved my armpit hair, I picked my head bald. I would tan every day outside, in a tanning bed. I bleached my teeth. I got my fingers and nails manicured, pedicured. I would put on a ton of brute cologne every morning. I gained weight.”

You can watch our full interview with Andre below as he recalls some of the craziest moments on set during season 5.

Landing a Lizzo cameo is another highlight in a huge year for Andre. He premiered his first stand-up special, “Legalize Everything,” in June on Netflix, and the streamer picked up his prank comedy feature film, Bad Trip, which was originally going to premiere at the since canceled SXSW 2020. No release date has been set for Bad Trip. The Eric Andre Show returns at midnight on Oct. 26 on Adult Swim.

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from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3mfFtGp

[ladystylestores]

A College Reality Check – The New York Times

Want to get The Morning by email? Here’s the sign-up.

Good morning. John Bolton’s book harshly criticizes the president. A former Atlanta police officer is charged with murder. And the Trump administration exits crisis mode on the coronavirus. Let’s start with the problems for colleges hoping to reopen.

Colleges have come rushing forth to announce that they will be inviting students back to campus this fall. But as I’ve spoken to college officials over the past few weeks — usually not for quotation — I’ve been struck by the difference between their public optimism and their private uncertainty.

Many university leaders aren’t sure how well on-campus living and in-person classes will work during this pandemic. Some acknowledge it may not work at all.

It will require radical changes to the normal campus experience, like canceling many activities, rotating which students can return (to keep dorms from being too full) and continuing to hold classes online (to protect professors).

This approach is likely to frustrate students — and it still might not prevent new coronavirus outbreaks. Nearly all distinctive parts of a campus experience, including parties, meals and extracurriculars, revolve around close social contact, often indoors.

So what explains the surge of “We’re open!” announcements? Competitive pressure, in part. Many colleges will face serious financial problems if they lose a year of tuition and other revenue.

Now professors and administrators have begun publicly criticizing reopening plans:

“My suspicion,” Susan Dynarski, a University of Michigan economist, wrote on Twitter, is that “colleges are holding out hope of in-person classes in order to keep up enrollments.” She added: “If they tell the difficult truth now, many students will decide to take a year off,” which “will send college finances into a tailspin.”

Carl Bergstrom, a biologist at the University of Washington, noted that the new class of Army recruits at Fort Benning recently suffered a major outbreak, despite universal testing there.

“Colleges are deluding themselves,” Michael J. Sorrell, the president of Paul Quinn College in Dallas, wrote in The Atlantic. Laurence Steinberg, a Temple University psychologist, wrote a Times Op-Ed arguing that the reopening plans were “so unrealistically optimistic that they border on delusional.”

Many “professors are wary of returning to the classroom, fearful that the health risks may be too high,” Deirdre Fernandes, a Boston Globe reporter, wrote. And Clara Burke of Carnegie Mellon University wrote: “Students can get ‘grab and go’ sandwiches, but do kitchen workers have enough space to protect themselves while making those sandwiches?”

There are no easy answers. Telling students to stay home in the fall also has big downsides. And it’s possible that students will do a better job wearing masks and remaining socially distant than skeptics like Steinberg expect.

But the path that colleges are choosing comes with big risks. American higher education is about to embark on a highly uncertain experiment.

FOUR MORE BIG STORIES

1. What’s inside Bolton’s book

The new memoir from John Bolton, President Trump’s former national security adviser, contains a series of remarkable allegations against Trump: that he pressured China to help him win re-election, praised China’s internment of Uighur Muslims, asked if Finland was part of Russia, said some reporters should be “executed,” and said it would be “cool” to invade Venezuela.

The Justice Department has asked a judge to immediately halt publication of the book, saying it contained classified information.

Every modern president has had former aides write memoirs with modest criticisms or unflattering anecdotes. But the harshness of the criticism from those who worked in the Trump administration — like Jim Mattis and others — has no precedent.

2. The White House moves on from the virus

The Trump administration has largely stopped treating the coronavirus as a crisis, with the president saying in an interview Wednesday night that it was “fading away.” The White House’s task force now meets just twice a week. Experts like Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx speak to the president less often. The country’s designated “testing czar” has returned to his old job.

With federal leadership receding and cases climbing in many places, state officials have been left to figure out how to handle the situation on their own, The Times reports.

More virus developments:

3. A crisis for black-owned businesses

The coronavirus shutdowns are hitting black-owned small businesses especially hard, new data shows. These businesses lack easy access to loans and appear to be benefiting less than white-owned businesses from government stimulus programs.

Our story includes maps of New York, Chicago and several other major cities, showing where businesses were running short on cash heading into the pandemic.

4. Charges in Rayshard Brooks shooting

A former Atlanta police officer, Garrett Rolfe, was charged with felony murder and aggravated assault in the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks outside a Wendy’s restaurant.

Prosecutors said that Rolfe shot Brooks twice in the back, declared, “I got him,” and kicked him as he lay on the ground. The Fulton County district attorney said another officer involved in the confrontation, Devin Brosnan, stepped on Brooks’s shoulder.

Appearing on Fox News, Trump defended Rolfe and blamed Brooks: “You can’t resist a police officer, and if you have a disagreement, you have to take it up after the fact.”

More protest developments:

Senate Republicans unveiled a policing overhaul bill yesterday that will compete with a House bill proposed by Democrats. Among the differences: Democrats would allow victims of police brutality to seek damages, while Republicans would not.

Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, urged the United Nations on Wednesday to investigate the police killings of black people in the United States.

Here’s what else is happening

The Aunt Jemima brand is getting a new name and logo, after its parent company acknowledged that its origins were “based on a racial stereotype.” Uncle Ben’s is also “evaluating all possibilities” concerning its branding.

The actor Danny Masterson, known for his roles in the sitcoms “That ’70s Show” and “The Ranch,” has been charged with raping three women in the early 2000s.

Lives Lived: Thomas F. Freeman was such an authority on public speaking that Martin Luther King Jr., Barbara Jordan and Denzel Washington all heeded his wisdom. So did the debate teams at the historically black Texas Southern University, which he coached to national renown over 60 years. He has died at age 100.

BACK STORY: A safe return for domestic workers

Tara Parker-Pope has been hearing from Times readers who want to know when it will be safe to allow domestic workers — like cleaners, plumbers and home health aides — back into their homes. Her answer flips the question: The main risk is for the workers, not the homeowners.

Domestic workers often visit multiple homes in a single day, increasing their chances of infection. In response to the questions she’s been getting, Tara has written a guide for The Times’s Well section.

Her two main pieces of advice: Leave the house when the workers are there (or, if that’s not possible, spend time in a closed room). And open as many windows and doors as possible to improve ventilation.

Related: “Is it safe to keep employing a cleaner? Wrong question, lady,” Roxane Gay writes in the Work Friend column.

PLAY, WATCH, EAT, BASKETBALL

Transform leftover veggies

Maque choux is a fancy name for a dish that’s really the perfect opportunity to use up the odds and ends in your fridge. Got half a red onion? Toss it in. Maybe a bell pepper, on the verge of going bad? Perfect. Half a chile? Use it.

The traditional Cajun side dish makes for either a condiment or light lunch. Placed on a bun, it’s like a refreshing vegetarian sloppy joe, Gabrielle Hamilton, a chef, said. Find her recipe here.

The plan to keep N.B.A. players safe

When the N.B.A. resumes its season inside Walt Disney World, the league will follow a long set of rules meant to protect players and team personnel from the coronavirus, including:

Players will not be allowed to shower after games until they are back at their hotels.

Each team will have its own on-site chef, and Disney restaurants will occasionally be closed to accommodate players.

The league will make socially distant recreational activities available for players, including video games, movie screenings and golf (without caddies).

The new home-court advantage: The Athletic reports that the league will be split among three hotels — with the top teams earning the most posh lodging.

Inside the mind of a comedy provocateur

The cult comedian Eric Andre considers himself to be “a benevolent attacker.” Known for the cringe-inducing antics on his series, a send up of late-night talk shows, he says he relies on “an element of a sleeping danger — you want there to be something at risk.” Past stunts include pretending to vomit in front of an unsuspecting guest and chasing a bassinet floating away on balloons while screaming, “My baby!”

In a profile, the 37-year-old star talks about his new Netflix special and comedy film.

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Most of today's terrorists and mass shooters are millennial men — here's why that could be

AP Photo/Andres Kudacki

Over the last 10 years, men in their mid- to late 20s and early 30s have committed the majority of US terrorist attacks and mass shootings.

Psychiatrists say the issue could be partly developmental, as brain regions governing risky behavior aren't fully formed until age 25.

Social forces that build over time could help explain why men are more likely than women to be suspects or perpetrators.

It was mid-afternoon on Halloween when a man in a Home Depot pickup truck veered into a New York City bike lane, killing eight people and injuring a dozen more. It was the city's deadliest terror attack since September 11, 2001.

The suspect was later identified as 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov — a man who federal investigators believe had ties to ISIS.

Over the past decade, the demographic profile of terrorists like Saipov has begun to come into focus. Men between 20 and 30 years old are overwhelmingly more likely to commit mass shootings, attacks, and acts of terrorism than any other gender or age group in the US, the evidence suggests.

Psychiatrists and social scientists believe the trend can be explained by a mix of factors, including a lack of psychological development, the need for belonging, and an evolving trend of past attacks that make future ones seem less horrific to perpetrators, and perhaps even noble.

A 10-year trend

Consider the following chart, which plots every major US terrorist attack, mass shooting, and otherwise politically motivated or premeditated attack over the last 10 years. The full data set can be viewed here.

Andy Kiersz/Business InsiderFrom the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, carried out by 23-year-old Seung-Hi Cho, to the most recent attack in New York City, the trend gradually begins to cluster around men in their mid-20s and early 30s.

The most infamous events include James Holmes, 24, killing 12 and injuring 58 in the Aurora, Colorado movie theater killing spree; Adam Lanza, 20, fatally shooting 28 people (many of them children) at Newtown Elementary School; 20- and 26-year-old Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev of the Boston Marathon Bombings in 2013; and Dylann Roof, 21, who killed nine churchgoers in South Carolina in June 2015.

A lack of development in the brain

Dr. Howard Forman, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, believes underdevelopment in the brain's frontal lobes, the areas responsible for controlling impulses and risky behavior, could play a role. In humans, the frontal lobes keep growing until approximately age 25.

"The preponderance of young men engaging in these deadly, evil, and stupid acts of violence may be a result of brains that have yet to fully developed," Forman told Business Insider.

Wikimedia CommonsSince many of the men are older than 25, Forman also suggested the desire for community could be attracting people on the margins. Forman called this "the allure of evil," and it seems to be consistent with terrorists often showing allegiance to groups like ISIS or other ideological causes.

"Joining a movement of evil, whether fascist, supremacist, or terrorist oftentimes allows an individual to go from feelings of being a nobody to being a somebody," Forman said. "And not just a somebody, but even a leader."

The theory of "thresholds"

The fact that men, not women, tend to commit��terrorist acts makes things more complicated. After all, women's frontal lobes also keep developing until 25, so it's not just a matter of development.

To explain that difference, some social scientists have come to rely on the theory of "thresholds," or the idea that each person has a different standard for which they'll engage in certain acts. The theory was developed by sociologist Mark Granovetter in the 1970s.

In his 2015 New Yorker piece "How School Shootings Happen," journalist Malcolm Gladwell unpacks Granovetter's research. He explains that someone who riots by throwing a brick through a store window has a threshold of zero. They can act alone. But someone else in that riot might need to see that first brick go through the glass to pick one up themselves, so they have a threshold of one. And so on. Even if your threshold is 1,000 or 10,000, Granovetter's research suggests that everyone has their threshold to riot.

The same could be happening with mass shootings, Gladwell argues. Ever since Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold committed the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School, young men have had a kind of playbook to carry out mass murder. Young men can point to specific predecessors who paved the way with past attacks, ultimately turning them into idols.

In effect, these attacks have become "a slow-motion, ever-evolving riot," Gladwell wrote, "in which each new participant's action makes sense in reaction to and in combination with those who came before."

Reuters

A look toward the future

Whether the trend abates could depend on how well communities, in addition to local and federal governments, address the psychological and cultural issues affecting men in this age bracket.

Forman's explanation suggests that millennial men who feel ostracized need more productive ways to become part of a group. Criminal psychologist James Garbarino, who has spent 20 years interviewing convicted murderers, has found the majority of men have unresolved trauma in their lives.

Granovetter's research also suggests the federal government has a role to play in destroying the ideological networks that link so many killers together, in order to stop the threshold effect.

Less than 24 hours after the New York City atack, President Trump declared that the US needed to "step up our already Extreme Vetting Program." (Uzbekistan, Saipov's home country, is not included on Trump's initial list of banned countries.)

In the meantime, the trend of past attacks, the current political climate, and the sheer size of the millennial population all suggest tensions are unlikely to cool anytime soon.

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