The Famous have been doing rather well as of late, and with the upcoming match against the Bheasts, #BattleFever is on!
That is the only real bright spot as of late. I have not been doing well, hence the relative dearth of entries, the decline in the frequency of entrie,s in this space. The fact that I have been less than inspired also has not helped.
I was less then enthused in, and practically unengaged with, the 2018 Oscars. Last year, I was not particularly enthused about the filim Dunkirkfor reasons explained here. But, last Sunday, Dunkirkwas the ONLYmovie I was rooting for. The rest of them, I had not seen. I had not seen them because, to quote the legendary, one and only, Eli Cross from The Kylie Ireland Show podcast eleven years ago,
All of these look like crappy-ass comps that you find at the bargain bin of your store.
That being said, I was particularly happy that Dunkirkbeat out the new Blade Runner in a couple of categories. I have a particular animus, it must be said, against the new Blade Runner. It was directed by Denis Villeneuve, a Gaspesian. Gaspesians, you see, have been calling for discriminatory tariffs against NetFlix. Now, I am not a particular fan of NetFlix because, as explained in this episode of Holly Randall's Unfiltered Podcast with Derrick Pierce, NetFlix took Rashida Jones' footage and turned it into an ignorant social justice jihadist/Shelley Lubben/Pjuke Fjord-style fatwa against the adult entertainment industry. Holly Randall will become material later on in one of the main points of this entry. For now, although I am less than amused with NetFlix's asshole view of the adult industry, something which will also become material to one of the main points of this entry. I still oppose white nationalist with a history of violence Pierre-Karl Péladeau's discriminatory tariffs against NetFlix, which is an American company. I hope that, today, Donald Trump announces massive tariffs against Gaspesian aluminium, purely as a massive FUCK YOU to Péladeau and the rest of Gaspesie. It is for this reason that I experienced a not insubstantial amount of glee whenever Dunkirkbeat out Villeneuve last Sunday. As well, I put myself through Jimmy Kimmel's insufferable eternal displays of virtue-signalling purely out of loyalty to Kylie Ireland and Andy Appleton who taught me to respect production design. The reason Oscar winners did not have time to thank everyone they wanted to than is Kimmel's interminable, scheduled, displays of virtue-signalling, which were unheard of, and unthinkable, when REAL MEN like Jimmy Stewart and Chuck Heston hosted the Oscars.
The NHL has also not been inspiring. True, the Montréal Canadiens, aka the Habs, won a couple of games last week against the New York Islanders. This was before they continued their losing ways, and I am not optimistic for tonight. The Habs have been very much under discussion over at TSN 690. There, Conor McKenna and crew of The Morning Show have asserted, against the backdrop of last week's NHL trade deadline, that skill is more important than character. I dispute this assertion, and my argument will comprise the second part of this entry, and be related to the first part.
The first part of this entry deals with another episode of Holly Randall's Unfiltered podcast, this one featuring Stormy Daniels. Ms. Randall did not get into the matter for which Ms. Daniels is currently being most heavily talked about by the mainstream media and neither will I. FDR, icon to many, was known to be an adulterer, and both JFK and RFK reportedly had relations with Marilyn Monroe. Grover Cleveland had an illegitimate child. Benjamin Netanyahu is also an ur-stud. Why would the current tenant of 1600 Pennsylvania be any different?
No, what irks me big time about the fucking mainstream media is how, even "liberal" outlets like the LA Times, have misrepresented Ms. Daniels. I guess this should not come as a surprise after that asshole Don Lemon over at the CNN said of Ms. Daniels "She is a pornstar...I shouldn't say that. 'Pornstar' is too glamourous. She is a woman who has sex on camera for money." As if that is different from what Lemon does, which is take one or two utterances, then completely fucks them over until he has inflated them artificially up to the level of big indaba.
Nevertheless, when I heard in the above podcast that the fucking MSM said that Ms. Daniels "spent all her money and was forced to resort to dancing and making movies again," and that she was "a diva at the clubs," and that she "had to carry a laundry basket with her to the clubs so she could do her laundry there," the "rage" indicator on the control panel of my skull blinked brightly and sounded loudly. I saw the MSM pull the exact same kind of grossly distorting nonsense before. Nearly two years ago, to be precise.
This is not going to be easy for me to write, but I am going to write it anyway, to show what assholes the MSM are.
Nearly two years ago, the universe lost one of the best human beings within it. Nearly two years ago, Amber Rayne died. Nearly two years ago, and I still have problems thinking it, much less saying it.
But that was not all. You see, the fall before, there were a lot of people in the industry saying a particular male performer had committed rapes. Ms. Rayne entered the conversation, detailing a bad scene she had with said performer. The asshole MSM were all over that, falsely translating Ms. Rayne's "I had a bad scene with him" to "He raped me." When Ms. Rayne went--SEVERAL TIMES--on social to EXPLICITLYsay that she was NOTraped by him, but rather just had a bad scene with him, the fucking MSM did not bother to report that.
Then, when Ms. Rayne died, the fucking MSM titled their stories "Rape Victim Amber Rayne Dies Suddenly," again COMPLETELYignoring Ms. Rayne's unambiguous posts declaring that she HAD NOT BEEN raped. As, in the immediate aftermath of it becoming public, the circumstances of Ms. Rayne's death were not known, the fucking MSM insinuated that Ms. Rayne committed suicide because she "had been raped." (Her death was eventually ruled accidental that June.) The fucking MSM media also COMPLETELYignored Ms. Rayne's social media posts immediately prior to her death, which said that she had just suffered the devastating loss of one of her horses.
So, when the fucking MSM said Stormy Daniels "is forced to dance and make movies again because she spent all her hush money (Ms. Daniels has danced throughout her career, is now a director, and has been, up until recently, been limited in her onscreen roles because she was recovering from a riding injury), that she "takes a laundry basket with her clubs to do her laundry there" (when she takes a laundry basket to clubs to carry her merch and because a laundry basket, being white, is visible in dim light), and that she "is a diva at the clubs" (when club managers texted her saying the EXACTopposite) they, the MSM, showed that they are no different from fucking Sargon and Mr. Metokur when they say "SJWs killed August Ames," when, in reality, it is industry people with an axe to grind who are the far more likely proximate cause of Ms. Ames's death.
Sargon, Metokur and company say we should not trust the MSM over ludicrous conspiracy theories like pizzagate. I say we should trust neither the MSM nor Sargon/Metokur because BOTHof those mobs will BLATANTLYmisrepresent the truth to fit their agenda.
A brief aside, it has been amusing to see Sargon and Vee take on the alt-right. Much as I am not a fan of either Sargon or Vee, I sympathise with their fight against the alt-right. It was also amusing to see Jean-François Gariépy-- the Gaspesian fraud who would have us believe he is "French" (which he is to the exact same extent that Larry the Cable Guy is the Duke of Cambridge) and that he is a "professional translator" when a) he, for the life of him, cannot pronounce the simple English word "idea" (out of his hole, "idea" comes out sounding like "ID") and b) when Claude Julien spent time in New Jersey and Boston at the sub-docotoral level, yet speaks far better English than Gaspesie Gariépy has yet been able to--blocked Vee. Warski asked Gaspesie Gariépy why he blocked Vee. Gaspesie Gariépy responded that Vee had not changed while he, Gaspesie Gariépy, had "evolved." This proves something about the alt-right that those of us familiar with the production of The Sarkeesian Effect knew a long time ago. The alt-right exploits and betrays everyone and anyone it works with, viewing collaborators as mere Ernst Röhms. This is reinforced by the fact that Richard Spencer is a K Street pimp, as are, according to the legendary, one and only Fred Reed, the entirety of the alt-right leadership.
More culpable are the leaders of the Alt-Right, highly intelligent and educated people, most of them talking heads of the DC-Manhattan bubble. They are not of limited mind and could afford to learn what they are talking about. They do not. They are misrepresenting peoples they have never met, civilizations they have never seen.
Aside over, they way they handled Stormy Daniels shows that the MSM are well capable of manufacturing fake news. They have always been. Consider this entry, also from Fred Reed, who spent decades as a journalist, on what the media actually are like, which is to say Rob Blackand Mary Sunshine in a suit. So, when Sargon, Metokur, the Internet Blood Sports mafia and sundry other YouTubes mopes position themselves as alternatives to the MSM, know that the difference between Sargon et al on the one hand and the MSM on the other is exactly akin to the difference between Coca-Cola on the one hand and Pepsi on the other.
Perhaps this is why I have become such a fan of Holly Randall's Unfiltered podcast. I have been a fan of Holly Randall, photographer and director extraordinaire, and a superb professional and warm and down-to-earth human being, for over a decade now. She has always had a soft, soothing voice that puts you at ease. She also has an inimitable sense of humour, and an ability to come up with sharp witticisms and comebacks. Her tagline at a now defunct industry chatboard was "I maintain a respectful distance from my models even when I am lubing up their pussies." On the same chatboard, yobos were constantly on her to post nude pics of herself. Her response was "Fellas, imagine that my strategic parts are the most beautiful things ever created...because you will never see a picture of them."
I loved her podcast above with Stormy Daniels. In fact, I completely agree with Ms. Daniels' statement that Wantedis her best filim. While not uncritical, I also loved Wanted, which is a superb Western. Everything Ms. Daniels said about what she and the cast and crew had to endure is born out by the BTS (Behind The Scenes) footage of the DVD, which I cannot recommend enough. As a Western, Wantedis no John Wayne hagiography, but rather has the hard edge of a 1950's Jimmy Stewart and Randolph Scott Western, and of this year's Hostiles, a gritty realism that is very much appreciated in this era of implausible spectaculars.
But the part I most like about Ms. Daniels' interview was when she shouted out Kylie Ireland and Andy Appleton as production designers extraordinaire. Ms. Daniels is a true leader who understands that loyalty goes both ways, top to bottom as well as bottom to top.
Another Unfilteredpodcast I loved was this one with Tori Black. There were political elements within it with which I agreed (the insanity of Florida's jihad against the adult industry) and political elements within it with which I disagreed (the decrying of Florida's refusal to attack gun ownership with the same vigour.) As far as I am concerned, the answer to school shootings is to raise a corps like the Ulster Defence Regiment or the French National Police's Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité, a well-trained rifle-armed force of at least company size per school. That being said, in the above podcast, Ms. Black revealed that she is living with PTSD. This is a brave admission. What I love even more about Ms. Black and the podcast is how Ms. Black does not allow PTSD to conquer her. She does not hide. This I have to admire irrespective of any political differences.
One other Unfiltered podcast I loved was the aforementioned one with Derrick Pierce. I have been a fan of Mr. Pierce since at least Eli Cross' classic sci-fi filim Upload. I also remember him co-hosting The Wednesday Night Threeway with Kylie Ireland and Raylene. In the early days, he was a wiseacre, but always a loyal guy, as reported by everyone else in the industry. These days, in addition to acting, he runs a gym and has penned a book on relationships. He has no use for pickup artists/manosphere types, who he referred to as something to the effect of "jackoffs," while getting more ass in one scene than Roosh and company have in their entire lives. Mr. Pierce is a very deep man.
The thing I liked most about Mr. Pierce's Unfiltered podcast was his and Ms. Randall's discussion of yobos sending dick pics, thinking that this is all they require to be successful in the industry. Mr. Pierce and Ms. Randall both pointed out that this line of thinking is fallacious and narrow. Mr. Pierce said something to the effect of "You have a big dick? That's nice. You have a tool. That doesn't make you a master mechanic." This segues neatly into my second topic, the TSN 690 discussion of whether character is more important than skill in picking a player for a hockey team. As I said, the Morning Show Crew think that skill is everything and that character is not essential. Permit me a contrary view.
Years ago on an industry forum, there was a topic on advice to new models coming into the business. None other than Eli Cross said that attitude and character are as important as looks, and that a model who does not have knockers that each require their own postal/zip code is preferable to one who does if that former model has a great work ethic, makes her call time and is a pleasure to work with. This translates very easily into sports. Permit me one additional point before I explain this translation. TSN 690 contributor Me Eric Macramalla, a McGill-trained lawyer, has repeatedly said that the best indicator of behaviour is past performance. Being a lawyer, Me Macaramalla carefully said that past performance is the BESTindicator, as opposed to THE ABSOLUTE indicator. This leaves room for the possibility that, even though it is the BEST indicator of future behaviour, past behaviour is not a 100% reliable indicator of future performance.
There is a case in point that speaks to both the validity of past behaviour and to the importance of character in addition to skill. In 1976, George Steinbrenner gave Reggie Jackson a million-dollar check to play for the Bronx Bombers based on Jackson's past performance. What ACTUALLYhappened that season? Jackson went for SEVERAL games without hitting a single ball, but while constantly shopping for sunglasses with the media in tow, dissing the Yankees organisation, leading to the inevitable high-volume confrontation with the legendary sonofabitch Billy Martin.
Character does matter. Formula 1 shows this as well. A couple of years back, the Prima Donna got turfed from Shitrarri. He made noises to McLaren. McLaren management, having no pride, no self-respect--or no memory of how the Prima Donna stiffed them strategically when the time was right not ten years before--turfed out young Kevin Magnussen to give the Prima Donna his place. It is not just that McLaren embarrassed its fans (I do not think management have the mens rea to embarrass themselves) by taking on someone who had betrayed them. It was also that, in his first--and only--year with McLaren, Kev won a podium. Exactly how many podiums did the Prima Donna win in the years since he turfed out Kevin Magnussen? Oh, yeah, that's right! NONE!
And while on the topic of Formula 1, both Mercedes' current driver Lewis Hamilton and past driver Ego---erm, I meant "Nico"--Rosberg were skilled, as in both of them regularly got podiums together. The looks on the face of either man when the other one came out ahead was a study in butthurt, leading to that epic and ENTIRELY UNNECESSARY crash in Barcelona in 2016. Nico Rosberg was undoubtedly more skilled in his sport than anyone the Habs will pick up is skilled at hockey. Yet, his egomaniacal character cost Mercedes the 2016 Barcelona Grand Prix since, having crashed into each other, neither Lewis nor Ego--erm, I meant "Nico"--picked up points.
Then, there is the lesson from basketball. It is often said that LeBron is the best player in the NBA while the Golden State Warriors are the best team in the NBA. For thems who do not follow basketball even minimally, LeBron does not play for the Warriors. So, how come, then, are the Warriors the best team in the NBA despite not having the best player, by stats at least, in the Association? Two reasons. The Warriors have Steph Curry, who I would argue is actually the best player in the league. Steph's stats do not match LeBron's. That is immaterial because stats are not what make Steph the best player in the league. It is the fact that Steph is a total team player, just like Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, that makes him the best player in his sport. There is also the fact that the Warriors' ownership strongly emphasises team spirit--as opposed to LeBron firing coaches and sending Kyrie Irving to Boston--which accounts for why, even though they have LeBron, the Cleveland Cavaliers are far from a sure thing if they face the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs.
Do not get me wrong, a minimal amount of skill is indeed necessary to successfully play hockey in the NHL, which is why Rosie O'Donnell and Melissa McCarthy are not in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Skill in and of itself, however, is not enough to prosper in a team sport. As the Knicks' legendary Pat Riley noted, being able to figure out one's place and role on the team is as important.
And, now, I want to end with a couple of plugs.
I first heard of this group on TSN 690. They are called Hockey Helps The Homeless, and they raise money for homeless people by hosting hockey tournaments featuring National Hockey League players and ordinary civilians.
McLaren alumni Sergio "Checo" Perez is collecting money for the victims of the recent earthquakes in Mexico through his foundation.
Puerto Rico has been devastated by Hurricane Maria. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has set up The Empire State Relief And Recovery Effort For Puerto Rico.
On the subject of Puerto Rico, Los Angeles Chef José Andrés has set up an organisation, called World Central Kitchen, to help feed the hungry, not only in Puerto Rico, but in other bad-off places in the world. Please donate or help if you can.
I also want to plug the Patreons of a couple of superb folks. First, there is Jordan Owen, superb musician and content creator. Then, there is Sunny Megatron, Sex Educator and Podcaster. And there is also director extraordinaire and podcaster Holly Randall. They are, all three, highly entertaining to watch. They have the charm and magnetic charisma of The Kylie Ireland Show podcast of a decade ago, starring the legendary, one and only Kylie Ireland and Eli Cross.