Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

There is one struggling party in US right now, and it’s not the Democrats.

The US Supreme Court is on the ballot in november.

He really is that stupid.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

In after Baud. Damn.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

People are weird.

Everyone is in a bubble, but some bubbles model reality far better than others!

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

Dead end MAGA boomers crying about Talyor Swift being a Dem is my kind of music. Turn it up.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

There’s always a light at the end of the frog.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Chutkan laughs. Lauro sits back down.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Fani Willis claps back at Trump chihuahua, Jim Jordan.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread: Can the Nerd Prom Be Saved?

Open Thread: Can the Nerd Prom Be Saved?

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… and if it were to disappear, who would notice?

Even if this lineup is too perfect to happen, could we at least spread the rumor that it will? Maybe “leak” this tweet to the Fox News twitter feed?…

Reader Interactions

152Comments

  2. 2.

    Elizabelle

    I wish they’d get rid of the WHCD. They’re not nerds, either. Not that cool, and are herd animals by the time they get to the White House.

    I’d rather see them do a “day of service” with a local charity, and skip the prom aspect.

  3. 3.

    Nicole

    As a friend put it, the last President to not show up for the WHCD was Reagan, because he was recovering from an attempted assassination. He still managed to call in from the hospital.

    Also, could we have a Bill Paxton thread? I’m really, really sad about his passing, although I admit I laughed when I read a comment online: “He is survived by his family and Bill Pullman.”

  4. 4.

    low-tech cyclist

    Im going to suspect there’s a part of Trump that is furious he cant return to the center of his 2011 Dinner humiliation as conquering victor

    Wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

    As far as the dinner itself is concerned, I really don’t give a flip whether they hold it without him, or just let it die.

  5. 5.

    germy

    Not a big fan of the dinner, but this is valuable:

    The White House Correspondents’ Association awards $100,000 in scholarships at its annual dinner, according to its website, and recently started a mentoring program that pairs working journalists with journalism students.

  6. 6.

    NotMax

    But you can bet your bottom dollar he’ll be watching it.

    Counter programming? Even the cable nets would balk at 90 minutes of Scott Baio licking Dolt 45’s boots.

  7. 7.

    Corner Stone

    adam nagourney
    ✔
    @adamnagourney

    Wouldn’t be shocked if this is a feint and Trump ends up showing up at the White House dinner in the end.

    Good God! That’s…That’s President Barack “The Islamic Shock” ‘s music!!

  8. 8.

    ThresherK

    @Elizabelle: I think it would be a 1:20 ratio of “selfless charity workhours* ” to “channel workhours spent covering and promoting selfless workhours”.

    (* I was raised on the now-obsolete “man-hour” and “man-month as a measure of software design. Is workhour the nomenclature now?)

  10. 10.

    aimai

    @low-tech cyclist: My guess is that this is not a strategy or a decision, just one of the things that Trump decides to do out of pique that he may then transform into a negotiation. He refuses to go because he is aware he is not popular, then he decides to try to use his leverage (such as it is) to make sure that he doesn’t get “roasted” by anyone unfriendly, or (as someone here said) that he gets the dinner put in one of his properties. If they are lucky/smart the WHCD stops inviting the president and turns it into an enormous roast/attack with the SNL crew. But they aren’t that smart and they aren’t ready to really push back against Trump. Will they fold up the entire thing?

  12. 12.

    Corner Stone

    @germy: It’s nominally for a charity but that’s just fig leaf BS. They can take the cost of the dinner, attendance and all associated arrangement costs and donate more than $100K a year without breaking a sweat. It’s all about the pageantry, they don’t give a shit about journalism scholarships.

  15. 15.

    ET

    A. Can’t imagine why he would have wanted to go to something where he was humiliated at in the past. B. He would have been humiliated when few stars would have shown up (and he really, really needs them) and there would have been a lot of laughing at his expense and we know he can’t handle that. C. His entire presidency has been about branding the press as enemy why would he go to a big event of theirs. D. I still hope this event looses it’s luster.

  16. 16.

    ThresherK

    @germy: Not to belittle scholarship $, but from that group, I have to wonder, who does the mentoring?

    When I was a hack on a penny-ante college newspaper and radio station, our faculty advisor would leave half-year-old copies of the Columbia Journalism Review in the staff room. I got my sense of sniffing out bullshit from that, in the pre-CNN-was-everywhere days.

    I want to know, is the WHCD scholarship effort doing anything better than training our future Chris Cillizas how to be a Beltway Inbred?

  19. 19.

    mai naem mobile

    I hope BHO or Joe Biden and Dubbya or another GOPr are smart enough to grab this opportunity and turn it into a “we have to do it for the scholarships for the students etc” bit and highlight how Dolt 45 is a petulant little child who cant show up for 2 hours to help raise some scholarship money. Gawd,he is such a small man.

  20. 20.

    Pogonip

    There’s a Samurai Jack preview now. Jack has acquired a suit of armor, a motorcycle, a gun, and an electronic staff weapon. He is still battling electronic bugs. Kitto katte, Jack!

  21. 21.

    Iowa Old Lady

    Sam Bee is holding at event at the same time. I believe it’s called “Not the WHCD.” I believe proceeds go to some sort of defense fund for journalists?

  22. 22.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Is the night of the this dinner when Samantha Bed is gonna be hosting an in absentia roast of Trump? I hope it’s Tuesday night, cause I’m gonna want something to distract me from Twitler addressing congress

  23. 23.

    Mnemosyne

    I read Trump’s tweet and heard a third-grader screeching, I didn’t want to go to your stupid party anyway!

    Though I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to show up at the last minute anyway. He loves stunts like that.

  24. 24.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Good. At the moment of his victory, the taste of revenge has turned to ashes in Trump’s mouth. I want him to watch everything he thought he’d won slip through his fingers, that he may die in misery and absolute failure.

    And vicious as that all sounds, I don’t even want it for his suffering. I want it because of what he stands for. White supremacy should find that even when it wins, it loses.

  25. 25.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    Cynically, I know how this will play out…

    Trumplings will cheer: “Hurray, Donald is putting the journos in their place!”

    We libs and some media folk will recognize cowardice and hurt fee-fees in action.

    The remaining Americans will yawn and turn to Keeping Up With The Kardasians.

  26. 26.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Feebog: Now if they only would hire Obama as Master of Ceremonies…

    I’m imagining a scene…
    “Mr President, would like to have dinner with Chuck Todd and Maureen Dow.,,”

    “Get the fuck out of my office.”

  27. 27.

    encephalopath

    Stephen Colbert killed it. They’re only just now figuring out that it’s been dead for more than a decade.

  29. 29.

    Brachiator

    @germy:

    Not a big fan of the dinner, but this is valuable

    Thanks for that. I vaguely recalled that there was some charitable purpose behind the Correspondents Dinner

  31. 31.

    Brachiator

    @Nicole:

    . Also, could we have a Bill Paxton thread? I’m really, really sad about his passing, although I admit I laughed when I read a comment online: “He is survived by his family and Bill Pullman.”

    Very droll.

  35. 35.

    Elizabelle

    @ThresherK:

    training our future Chris Cillizas how to be a Beltway Inbred?

    Why the WHCD should die a death ten years in coming. (Good point about Colbert.)

  37. 37.

    D58826

    OK, I’ll bite – why the obsession on Twitter about Spicey’s birthplace? Since he is only the press sec. he could have been born at the North Pole and it would not matter.

    Unless it’s just the ‘fake’ media trolling the humorless toady

  38. 38.

    Nicole

    @Brachiator: My husband and I are grieving his passing by rewatching “Near Dark,” which is one of my favorite vampire films ever. I IMDB’d the movie to read up trivia facts about Paxton, and discovered that one of the child actors in it, Marcie Leeds, gave up acting as an adolescent, eventually became an M.D. and was part of the surgical team that saved Congresswoman Gabby Gifford’s life.

  43. 43.

    SFAW

    @Major Major Major Major:

    The MBA’s got involved in an attempt to demystify the process for all non-software people

    Shee-it, they should have started by trying to demystify for the keypunchers software people, first.

    And for that comment, I’m sure my system will suffer a BSO

  46. 46.

    germy

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Sean SpicerVerified account
    ‏@seanspicer

    Sean Spicer Retweeted Michiko Kakutani
    For the record @nytimes @grynbaum can’t even get where I was born right and failed to ask

    Jake TapperVerified account‏@jaketapper 22h22 hours ago

    I imagine it must be really annoying when someone puts out false info about where you were born. Must really bother you!!

  48. 48.

    m.j.

    I’d just like to say that this celebration of the enclave of privileged, “reporting.” needed to die anyway. If there is anything left of Trump’s legacy that is positive, it will be this.

  49. 49.

    Aleta

    I’d like to see them use the opportunity to have some serious talk on TV about the free press, civil rights, freedom of speech and assembly, separation of powers.

  53. 53.

    Cain

    Well you know we did have great moments like with Obama’s anger translator. Obama wasn’t too keen about WHCD either. As it was said:

    Luther: “Come on! What is this dinner!? And WHY am I REQUIRED to come to it?!”

    Luther: “That is why we’re running for a third term!” – god, please.. let that happen! :(

  54. 54.

    Mnemosyne

    @Nicole:

    Since I work (in a minor way) in the entertainment industry, my Facebook is currently filled with posts by people talking about how friendly and hard-working Paxton was.

    Hint to aspiring actors: being nice to everybody you encounter on the job gets you way farther in your career than being a self-important dick does. It means people will still be hiring you for jobs when you have an inevitable dip in your popularity. This is why Bill Paxton worked steadily for 30+ years and Val Kilmer has trouble getting parts.

  55. 55.

    germy

    The White House Correspondents’ Association has announced that they will still hold the event whether Trump attends or not. The event “has been and will continue to be a celebration of the First Amendment and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy republic,” WHCA president Jeff Mason told the Washington Post. “We look forward to shining a spotlight at the dinner on some of the best political journalism of the past year and recognizing the promising students who represent the next generation of our profession.”

    The somewhat odd, increasingly celebrity-laden event is usually attended and headlined by the sitting president, as well as a comedian who is brought in to roast the president and press corps. Many had already surmised that it was unlikely that the typically thin-skinned Trump would elect to sit through such a experience this year.

  56. 56.

    leeleeFL

    @germy: Saw this and noted to myself that Tapper has a by coming for his next f–kup, provided it isn’t too egregious. I do have standards, dontcha know?

  58. 58.

    zhena gogolia

    @germy:

    I’m not a fan of the thing, except Colbert’s monologue was a thing of beauty that I continue to quote daily. But I’m delighted they’re going to have it without him.

  59. 59.

    zhena gogolia

    @zhena gogolia:

    Favorite line: “They’re not rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. This administration isn’t sinking, this administration is soaring. They’re rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg!”

  61. 61.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!

    Want to bet Trump didn’t write that. Since went has Trump made even the pretense of politeness?

  64. 64.

    cosima

    my oldest is going to be landing in Boston in a couple of hours. She’s going to be there a day or two. She would like to find good pizza (can I ever relate!). Any Boston BJ pizza recommendations?

  65. 65.

    sigaba

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: He’s done passive-aggressive “classy” before.

    The only sense in which “nerd” applies to “nerd prom” is when people mean they like their nerds rich and famous. Which to me tests the whole principle of nerdery, which is a sort of dignity that exists in the absence of wealth or fame.

  66. 66.

    zhena gogolia

    @aimai:

    As I said on a previous thread, re his bragging about some potential MAGA rally that would be so big, so big: The utter, abject, disgusting lack of dignity, class, self-awareness, self-respect of our “president” continues to astonish me. I am so embarrassed that he is representing us in any way, or that he has a scintilla of power over my life.

  67. 67.

    MomSense

    @aimai:

    He doesn’t have a sense of humor. Like most bullies, he can’t tell a funny joke and he is too narcissistic to be self deprecating. His act would bomb and then he would be unfavorably compared to PBO.

  69. 69.

    humboldtblue

    Holy mother of things that smell good, I don’t think I have ever used herbs de Provence before and the soup recipe I am using called for some. My apartment smells amazing!

  70. 70.

    Brachiator

    @Nicole:

    . .. My husband and I are grieving his passing by rewatching “Near Dark,” which is one of my favorite vampire films ever.

    Another good Paxton performance.

    Cool factoid about the actress who became a doctor.

  71. 71.

    HeleninEire

    @Corner Stone: hey saw your Q in the last thread. Zipploc bags and vacuum bags are the way to go. I fit an entire wardrobe into 2 42 inch canvas roll bags using them. I fit 2 dresses (um all the dresses I own) plus 3 tee shirts into one 10 inch zipploc bag. My winter coat went into a vacuum bag. Go buy zipplocs.

  74. 74.

    germy

    @MomSense:

    Like most bullies, he can’t tell a funny joke and he is too narcissistic to be self deprecating.

    Remember the Al Smith dinner? No laughs from the crowd, and I think he was booed at one point.

  75. 75.

    Comrade Scrutinizer

    @Nicole: Near Dark is an amazing vampire flick, which has no mention of vampires at all. I’ll take one Near Dark over any number of Twilighty sparkly fuckers. It’s also the movie that put Kathryn Bigelow on my map.

  76. 76.

    Brachiator

    Newsflash

    A family member says Joseph Wapner, who presided over “The People’s Court” with steady force during the heyday of the reality courtroom show, has died. He was 97.

    We definitely need a new thread for Bill Paxton and Judge Wapner.

  77. 77.

    cosima

    @germy: I missed the ‘classy’ bit of that tweet. I found it purely passive-aggressive shitheel. The end bit about Republicans being happy about it (or lucky or whatever it was) was class-less. Completely unpresidential (as usual). And in direct contrast to the WHCD tweet (obv not sent by him).

  79. 79.

    germy

    Game of Thrones’ Neil Fingleton Dies at 36

    Actor Neil Fingleton, who played Mag the Mighty in Game of Thrones and the Fisher King in Doctor Who, has passed away due to heart failure.

  81. 81.

    patrick II

    I will be contrarian to the general opinion here in that I actually enjoyed the dinner during Obama’s years. He was unfailingly polite during the rest of the year, but on that one night a year he got to bring out the dagger and wield it with a smile. Particularly the year he had the anger translator, where Obama eventually got even the anger translator worried because of the unvarnished emotional truth of what Obama was saying. Obama got to say many things he thought but normally could not say, but on the dinner nights he got to say them with humor — and he was damn good at it.

  82. 82.

    efgoldman

    @trollhattan:

    CNN seems focused in a manner I’ve never seen.

    They were a really good world wide news network in Ted Turner’s day. Long goddamned time ago.
    Then they found their best ratings were the hour or two every evening when a Dem and a RWNJ screamed at each other, and it was all down hill from there.

  84. 84.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    @Mnemosyne:

    Curiously, I was just reading an article about how despised Chevy Chase was and is. Even when he said, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” he was condescending and phony. He and Belushi were jerks.

  86. 86.

    Nicole

    @West of the Rockies (been a while): I remember reading in one of the books put out about SNL that when Chevy Chase came back to host, he got into a big fight with Bill Murray, who called him, and I quote, “Medium talent!” I think that’s one of the best insults I’ve ever come across.

  87. 87.

    hovercraft

    @Corner Stone:
    There’s a reason they call it nerd prom, it’s the villagers equivalent of the Oscar’s. Their chance to dress up and pretend they are Hollywood celebrities and also mingle with real A-listers.
    Reasons for Twitler not to attend:
    * Stephen Colbert.
    * A-listers not willing to attend.
    * Hostile room (I think he underestimates villagers desire to ingratiate themselves)
    * His Al Smith performance was panned and booed.

    He is a coward, I bet that soon he will not only refuse to take questions from “real” reporters, he will only appear at places where he’s insulated from the wrath of his detractors.

  90. 90.

    Nicole

    @Mnemosyne: It’s always nice to hear that people whose work you admire are decent human beings, too. A friend of my husband’s was Paxton’s driver on Twister and she said not only was he nice to her, but she went to the premiere as his guest. That’s class.

  91. 91.

    Brachiator

    @West of the Rockies (been a while):

    He and Belushi were jerks.

    But Belushi was more loved than Chevy Chase.

    Artists and performers are often difficult people. Maybe most people are. But because we watch them or listen to them, we want our artists to be nice people

    The story is often more complicated, especially in a profession like acting or performing, where ego is so important.

  93. 93.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @zhena gogolia:

    I must say, since you’ve been commenting in Russian, both Google Translate and my copy-and-paste skills are getting quite the regular workout!

  94. 94.

    cosima

    Boston pizza suggestions welcome!

    Also — some of you can skip right by this, but I did promise an update (as this is an open thread), so I’ll try to keep it brief:

    Had a meeting with the head teacher that was over an hour. Typed out a hugely long email to nail down the points of the meeting. She said that she’d consulted w/all sorts of staff, social workers, psychologist, etc. that are working with the student, and they came to the conclusion that it’s something that is not specifically directed at Little C, not intended to be overtly aggressive or violent, etc etc… So, I wrote a lot about how I consider it their responsibility to further explore that & ensure that. They’ve hired additional support staff for classroom & playground, and I said make sure that you have further discussions w/all staff re: ensuring they’re monitored & kept apart. And draw clearer boundaries re: acceptable behaviour, as I think there’s a bit of normalising &/or minimising of behaviour that crosses lines.

    The bottom line is that we had to make a judgement call re: the negatives associated with removing Little C & the major disruption to her life, education, etc., and that any other school might actually have similar issues (because here the default is definitely mainstreaming for all, no matter how many challenges). This is the devil we know, the one we’ve been watching, who knows we’re watching.

    I went to bed at 8pm that night with a horrific headache from all of the stress…….. I’m not feeling great about it, but Little C is feeling better & cautiously optimistic & aware that I expect her to be more verbal about all of this, so there we are.

  95. 95.

    randy khan

    @germy:

    Remember the Al Smith dinner? No laughs from the crowd, and I think he was booed at one point.

    Indeed he was, during a line about how Hillary actually hated Catholics.

  96. 96.

    trollhattan

    @efgoldman:
    Confess CNN’s first iteration was when I was in the rabbit ears generation so I would only see it in airports. Disaster porn was my actual introduction to them, after getting a dish.

  97. 97.

    Jeffro

    @Corner Stone:

    It’s all about the pageantry, they don’t give a shit about journalism scholarships.

    “Pageantry”?? We’re talking about the WHCD here…;)

  99. 99.

    cosima

    @efgoldman: She’s staying with a friend (Longfellow?), and will spend some time with her cousin, who is going to university there. She’s been in Hawaii w/her dad’s side of the family for a bday celebration, and is working her way back home (Vermont).

  100. 100.

    Mnemosyne

    @West of the Rockies (been a while):

    Belushi was smart enough to be nice to the crew. Chase, not so much, and he continues to be an asshole to this day. The creator of “Community” put Chase on the show at the insistence of one of the network executives who’s a buddy of Chase’s, and then got fired because Chase hated him.

    IIRC, though, the creator got the last laugh because they had to hire him back after the show started to tank and the rest of the cast rebelled after one season away.

  101. 101.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Samantha Bee will be holding an alternative WHCD that promises to be hilarious.

  102. 102.

    Elizabelle

    @cosima: What a tough situation you and little C and the school are in. Glad you made your concerns known, and that little C is feeling better. She knows you went to bat for her; that’s huge.

  104. 104.

    Mnemosyne

    @Brachiator:

    Right, but we’re not talking about how performers are with fans, we’re talking about how they are in their professional relationships with crew and other cast members. The general public has some issues with Tom Cruise’s personal wackiness, but crews and other actors LOVE him because he’s always professional and friendly on the set and in other work environments. It’s also what saved Robert Downey Jr’s ass professionally — when he was actually on set and working, he showed up on time and was professional, so he got cut a LOT of slack until he finally got his drug problems straightened out.

  105. 105.

    Nicole

    @Mnemosyne: It also sounds like Belushi was a jerk when under the influence of drugs and alcohol, while Chevy Chase was a jerk when under influence of his own personality.

    And, of course, no one would ever accuse Belushi of being a medium talent.

  106. 106.

    cosima

    @Elizabelle: Thanks. It’s a far from perfect solution to a very difficult problem. I’m ensuring that I lay the responsibility 100% at the feet of the school (because WTF sort of control could we have, only removing her from the school, which would still leave that girl there, focused on someone else). I’m expecting some additional pro-active steps from the school, and I was quite clear about that. Little C knows that she’s got a responsibility to be more vocal, and that’s all that I’ll expect from a young child in this sort of situation. Hoping for the best, doing what we can.

  107. 107.

    Mnemosyne

    @cosima:

    Ugh. In some ways, though, it’s good that it’s out in the open and everyone is aware that there’s a potential problem. At least it doesn’t sound like the school is in total denial even if they’re not taking it as seriously as you would like.

    Is there a psychologist or social worker you and/or your daughter can talk to as well? You’re probably trying to walk that fine line between making sure your daughter is alert to the possible danger while not trying to freak her out too much, and a psychologist or social worker might be able to help you walk that line.

  108. 108.

    hovercraft

    @aimai:

    The idea of tweeting your rejection of an invitation is, definitionallyclassless.

    What in this mans 70 years on this planet would cause you to expect him to be classy ? The gold leaf? Stealing money from veterans? Surrounding himself with people suspected of abusing and or raping women? Constantly lying about every damn thing and when confronted about it just lying some more? A person with class, picks up the tab, they acknowledge wrongdoing, deliberate and accidental.
    Twitler has as much class as a sewer rat, apologies to the rat.

  109. 109.

    ? Martin

    @trollhattan: Disaster porn was unavoidable. As a 24 hour network, they could cover routine things live and just happen to catch disasters unfold. My first exposure to CNN was going to my physics class during lunchtime to watch the Challenger launch, which I think only CNN was covering live – everyone else was showing soaps. Gulf war only cemented that as the future of news coverage a few years later.

  110. 110.

    ? Martin

    Meanwhile in California:

    What she found was a federal agency in a partisan standoff when it came to overseeing how billions of dollars are spent on campaigns — or even whether it should play any role at all. It’s why Ravel, who will teach at UC Berkeley’s law school this fall, said it may now be time for homegrown action.

    “States are now realizing that they need their own laws,” she said in an interview last week.

    Some believe California is ahead of the curve, with rules put in place during Ravel’s tenure in Sacramento. Those rules were prompted by a case in which $11 million was funneled through a network of nonprofit organizations into a political action committee deeply involved in two 2012 ballot initiative campaigns. In 2015, the FPPC added additional regulations surrounding disclosure of donors whose money passes through nonprofit groups.

    Efforts like that are more likely to survive legal challenges, UC Irvine law professor Rick Hasen points out.

    “What the Supreme Court has done in disclosure is give a wide berth to the states,” he said. “I think there’s a lot that can be done.”

    Why it’s increasingly important that we win back governorships and state legislatures. Yesterday’s result in Delaware is hugely important. Don’t get so distracted by Trump that you neglect to fight for your state.

  111. 111.

    Brachiator

    @Mnemosyne:

    Right, but we’re not talking about how performers are with fans, we’re talking about how they are in their professional relationships with crew and other cast members.

    Yes, but I’ve read enough artist biographies to know that many artists were also pains in the ass around crews and other people they work with.

    It may have affected their careers, but might also have been inseparable from their artistry. I’ve read, for example, that Did Caesar could be a total monster.

    The Alan Brady character on the Dick Van Dyke Show was a kindler, gentler version of Sid.

  112. 112.

    Mnemosyne

    @Nicole:

    The dirty secret of Hollywood is that talent only gets you so far, because so much of the work is built on personal relationships. If you’re a supremely talented asshole, you’ll get work for a while, but you’ll have a LOT of career ups and downs because people will have to decide if they need you specifically for that role, or if they can get someone else who’s less of a pain to work with.

    Bill Murray is beloved throughout the industry because he will take the side of the cast and crew over the director while on set. It drives a lot of directors crazy, but crew members love him and will work their asses off for him.

  113. 113.

    cosima

    @Mnemosyne: I hope that I’ve laid down a framework that leaves them assuming 100% of the responsibility for this, so they’ve got no option other than to be both pro-active & vigilant. Once Little C walks onto their grounds it’s all on them.

    I’ll ask Little C about additional support. I’ve asked in the past, but she will probably dig in her heels. I may actually try a work-around, that I want to go together to talk to someone about what I can do to help Charlotte through this (and other upcoming challenges). Maybe someday she’ll transition to going on her own, even if she doesn’t I think it would be good for us — thanks for the suggestion.

  114. 114.

    Jeffro

    @hovercraft:

    I bet that soon he will not only refuse to take questions from “real” reporters, he will only appear at places where he’s insulated from the wrath of his detractors.

    – he & Spicey & the rest of them are already kicking not-fake news outlets out of press briefings and giving the first half-dozen questions to Breitbart and OANN
    – he’s already back out doing his “love me love me do” rallies

    In a few more weeks he’s probably going to be splitting time between NYC and Florida, with only the occasional stopover in DC. I bet he starts doing 2-3 rallies a month as well.

  116. 116.

    Mnemosyne

    @Brachiator:

    Sid Caesar was a total monster when he was running his TV show. That’s why he didn’t get control of another TV show after his heyday, and why he struggled professionally for a very long time afterwards, with occasional and brief comebacks. If you’re unpleasant to work with, people don’t want to work with you, and that goes double for Hollywood, where you’re going to have to work grueling hours in close contact with people.

    Obviously, no one is sweetness and light all the time, and it’s not necessarily about “niceness” so much as professionalism. John Ford was a gigantic asshole to his actors, but he was smart enough not to mistreat his crew.

  118. 118.

    Mnemosyne

    @cosima:

    Even if you just go by yourself, it will probably reduce your stress level and the therapist can help you brainstorm solutions when it comes to working with your daughter. Don’t feel like you’re a “bad mom” for needing the extra support — this is a weird and unusual situation, so you should use all of the resources available to you.

  119. 119.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    @Mnemosyne:

    I read that Belushi refused to perform in sketches written by women. Yes, talent is cool but will only go so far if you’re an asshole. Although I’ve heard Christian Bale is a jerk but is still going fairly strong. He may land fewer roles as he ages.

  120. 120.

    hovercraft

    @zhena gogolia:

    Just the mere phrase “President Trump” gives me violent nausea.

    I still won’t use it. I know it’s his title, but he doesn’t deserve it and since he felt no need to show Obama any respect for him, I chose to extend Twitler that same amount of respect.

  122. 122.

    Mnemosyne

    @West of the Rockies (been a while):

    Bale had the one widely publicized meltdown that was caught on tape but, interestingly, he got a lot of support from crew members here in LA. There was one radio call-in where the person explained that the crew member who got yelled at was not doing what he was supposed to do at that point in the shoot and should have known better.

    ETA: And, yes, Belushi was a sexist asshole who didn’t think women were funny (except Gilda Radner, but she was everyone’s exception to the rule). Sadly, in the 1970s and 1980s, that was not a disqualifying form of assholery.

    Oh, and he thought Carrie Fisher was hilarious, which is why she’s in “The Blues Brothers.”

  124. 124.

    hovercraft

    @Jeffro:

    In a few more weeks he’s probably going to be splitting time between NYC and Florida, with only the occasional stopover in DC. I bet he starts doing 2-3 rallies a month as well.

    He hasn’t been to NYC since the inauguration, his detractors here are just waiting for him to show up. They even have contingency plans to do “flash mob” style protests, if he tries to sneak in or adds a last minute visit. NYC hates him, so he’s avoiding it, he’ll be back eventually, but I think he’ll stay away most of the time, he can’t hide himself away from his distractors, they’ll be right outside.

  125. 125.

    aimai

    @lgerard: Huh! I really dislike their pizza. I think Otto’s is better pizza–though in the square there is no place to sit. Otto’s in Coolidge Corner is good. I Used to live near Emma’s–that was great pizza. I think they are still open down near Kendall square?

  127. 127.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @efgoldman:
    I know you’re just joking, but it struck me that all the toxic masculinity of the 80s, which rebounded into the extreme misogyny a generation later, is summed up in that sentence. The contempt for intellectualism, the defining of male value by sexual success, the cruel enforcement of both, and the assumption that these rules are inviolate.

  128. 128.

    lgerard

    @aimai:

    interesting

    Emma’s on Huron St was great, when they moved to Kendall, not so great. I don’t think they are there anymore.
    Otto’s is OK, although I think it is too arty for me, I like simple

  129. 129.

    Mnemosyne

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    I remember reading a film criticism book years ago called “Hard Bodies” that was all about toxic masculinity in Hollywood films during the Reagan era. It had some interesting points, but the author seemed to completely misunderstand the message of “RoboCop.”

  131. 131.

    Nicole

    @Mnemosyne: Truth about the view of women in comedy in the 1970s and 1980s. I adore Monty Python’s Flying Circus, but they weren’t exactly a model of progressivism when it came to female roles in their sketches.

    On the bright side, with all the work we still have to do, I have a six-year-old boy child who thinks Melissa McCarthy and Kate McKinnon are two of the funniest people on TV.

  132. 132.

    Slaughter

    @Corner Stone: Last year, 2,700 people attended, with tickets at $275 a head. That’s $742,500. That’s a lot of money spent to raise a $100,000 scholarship. Not to mention all the bucks spent on after-parties, etc.

  134. 134.

    BruceFromOhio

    7/7 Bonus:
    Ideal political speaker lineup for WHCA would be past 2 pres, BHO/GWB
    Ideal entertainers: A Baldwin, Melissa McC, Lin-Manuel M

    No W, please. Ever again. The rest would be awesome.

  137. 137.

    Mnemosyne

    @BruceFromOhio:

    LMM would never do it — he tries his best to stay out of party politics. But I would LUUUURVE to see Baldwin and McCarthy together doing their roles, especially if they could work in some Colbert-style criticism of the press.

  141. 141.

    TriassicSands

    Ideal political speaker lineup for WHCA would be: No one.

    Ideal entertainers: No one.

    Trump may be performing a service here if his refusal to subject himself to withering ridicule helps bring about the end of the Correspondents’ Dinner. It’s a sick gathering of people who should never socialize together with a bunch of celebrities thrown in to increase interest.

    We pay much too much attention to celebrities in this country already. I also think it is a mistake to turn presidents into celebrities. That trivializes them as people and their roles as politicians. We all miss Obama but making him into a celebrity diminishes him, IMO.

  143. 143.

    JosieJ (not Josie)

    I don’t think they should get rid of the WHCD entirely, but now is a good time for them to reset. If they must have a big annual banquet, they should make it entirely about journalism. Don’t invite politicians at all. They should even avoid actors. They should play up the scholarship angle, honor journalists who’ve done good work, and also donate some of the money raised to endangered journalists around the world. And they should stop with the damn inferiority complex in comparing themselves to glitzier events. If you’re doing good, it shouldn’t matter how glitzy your event is, and they should stop trying to emulate Hollywood, it only gets them ridiculed.

  144. 144.

    TriassicSands

    @amk:

    And if there were any way to do it responsibly, I would ignore him completely.

    However, it is my fervent hope that paying attention to him will hasten the day he is removed from office. It’s not something I am confident will happen since the Republicans show no likelihood of doing their jobs, but the justification for removal will exist should the GOP decide to care just a little more about the country and a lot less about their endless, corrupt pursuit of power.

    In a just world, Trump would be a carnival barker in a fourth rate carnival living perpetually on the edge of begin closed down.

  145. 145.

    TriassicSands

    That should be “being closed down.”

    @JosieJ (not Josie):

    What you describe is not the WHCD. The problem is that celebrities rule in our superficial country. They attract the attention, not raising money for a worthy cause. You’re right about the glitz. Upthread the following figures were quoted:

    Last year, 2,700 people attended, with tickets at $275 a head. That’s $742,500. That’s a lot of money spent to raise a $100,000 scholarship. Not to mention all the bucks spent on after-parties, etc.

    If all they’re trying to do is raise $100,000.00 for a scholarship, they ought to be able to do it without all the glamor, glitz, and celebrities. A good fundraiser ought to able to find one celebrity a year to donate $100,000.00. No need for a dinner at all. Or skip the celebrity and find a wealthy philanthropist.

  146. 146.

    Debbie1

    @MomSense: In that case, it’s a good thing Tr*mp cancelled and (fingers crossed) will not attend. Otherwise, we’ll all be subjected to endless fantasy tweets about how much brighter the stars shined at his event, compared to Pres. Obama’s, or how much laughter he generated compared to Pres. Obama. We’re also sparing the next head of state who is here on a visit. While discussing bilateral trade, Tr*mp won’t segue into a statement about hoe huuuuuge his ratings were compared to the president’s.

  147. 147.

    Debbie1

    “@Mnemosyne: Anthony Bourdain had Obama as a guest, and said Obama was the first guest who made sure everyone in the crew got to eat.”

    Socialist!

  149. 149.

    No One You Know

    @Mnemosyne: If he’s willing to crash the stage for a children’s fundraiser, why not crash the dinner?

    Question is, what exactly would he do there? Order arrests of insufficiently flattering speakers? Review the size of his inaugural crowd? Tweet from the floor?

  150. 150.

    No One You Know

    @cosima: I’ve been wondering how things were going. It’s a difficult call to make and I’m glad you found a solution that you can live with.

    I was wondering what the school’s liability is; did they share data on why they don’t think little c isn’t at more risk than others? I recall in my case that the other child had been having difficulties no one was willing to define, but the explicit threat (with blunt scissors) shook everybody.

    Keeping you and yours in my prayers.
    -s.

  151. 151.

    Pogonip

    @cosima: Can you sign Little C up at a traditional martial arts (TMA) school such as bujinkan? A TMA school focuses on the practical side, rather than tournaments; they’ll teach her how to be alert when the other kid is around, how to pay attention in all 8 directions, how to use her peripheral vision (that alone will be worth the cost when she starts driving). If the other kid does attack her, she’ll learn disarming techniques and come-along holds.

    Bujinkan won’t accept students younger than 12 or 14, I forget which, but if I remember right some of the Chinese-system TMAs do accept kids into a modified program that leaves out the lethal stuff but teaches the above.

    Before you sign her up for anything, acquaint yourself with the self-defense laws in your jurisdiction. Good luck!

  152. 152.

    cosima

    @Pogonip: That’s actually a very good suggestion, and I’ll run it by Little C. She currently has 3-5 days of sport most weeks (orienteering, riding, fencing), and drums as well (pipe band drumming), so feels very much like we have over-booked her time, but is not willing to give up any of it (has to squeeze play & homework in there as well). However, she’s very slim, and it wouldn’t take much to knock her around, even as strong as she is from her various sports, and she does understand that. I like the idea of her being empowered through learning a defensive art/skill — will ask her about swapping fencing for martial arts, this whole issue may tip the balance toward martial arts for her.

    @No One You Know: Thanks. It is right on the edge of what I can live with, tbh. The process here, as I said above, is to mainstream children no matter their difficulties, and I cannot say (though I probably should have asked at the very long meeting!) what line has to be crossed to get kids expelled. I did read the exclusion policy before going to the meeting, and of course it was written very vaguely, to ensure that all of *their* bases are covered, even brought it along with me in the event that the issue became contentious. I realise that they are hoping to make progress with this girl, given her unfortunate circumstances and challenges, but I hope that this has brought home to them the need to monitor her more closely — physically and mentally/emotionally — as they attempt to help her move past her current stage/phase of lashing out & directing her anger & frustration at a few individuals (apparently Little C is not the only one that she is being kept away from, which actually doesn’t make me feel any better). We’re taking this one day at a time — with more vigilance the stage that we’re at right now.

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