When I skimmed the Tracy Chapman article yesterday, it occurred to me that it might be the result of a simple ChatGPT prompt: "Write an article explaining how Luke Comb's great cover of Tracy Chapman's great song Fast Car is evidence that country music exploits Black people and LGBTQ+."
Three of the biggest stars in pop country right now are Darius Rucker (who is black), Brothers Osborn (whose front man is an out gay guy), and Kane Brown (who is half white and half black). At the Brothers Osborn concert I went to, T.J. Osborn spoke from the stage about coming out as gay and how much support he feels from his fans. At the Kane Brown concert I went to, he spoke from the stage about some of the brutal racial discrimination he faced growing up. His audiences love him without qualification.
My guess is that people outraged by Comb's successful "appropriation" of Tracy Chapman's song reject or at least overlook Darius Rucker, T.J. Osborn, and Kane Brown because they don't talk about their group identities in "approved" ways. I guess they need to add Tracy Chapman herself to the list, since she is apparently delighted rather than victimized by having a white guy do a nice cover of one of her songs.
Look, deny it all you want but for decades it has been impossible for LGBT people to make a living in music, theater, dance, and other artistic professions. Impossible.
Your friends over at BARPOD just uploaded an episode on a scandal at Vice, and I was very disappointed to see that it didn't involve Moynihan, a ton of coke, and at least a dozen strippers of both sexes.
He might have eased the tension by telling the guy that he has a friend who isn't black and who has given everyone limitless n-word passes.
But seriously, I can easily imagine someone feeling provoked by the two combative gentlemen - but poor, innocent Matt? He's by far the nicest of the three!
Alright, my jury duty story... San Jose, CA, circa 2007. I get called into the courtroom, and assigned my number. I think I was number 40 or so. The first 18 get called into the box. The lawyers and defendant are up front, and all I can see of them from my vantage point are their backs. The lawyers start asking questions of the perspective jurors, and the public defender asks the assembled humans, "how many of your have already determined that my client is guilty in your minds before we start this trial?" A healthy number of them raise their hands, probably at least 5 of the 18. The not-yet totally cynical 26 year-old me was horrified! How could these people possibly have already formulated a verdict against this man without having heard ANY of the evidence? So the public defender asks a follow-up question to one of the perspective jurors who had raised his hand, "why do you think my client is guilty?". The response: "because he looks like a pedophile." I thought to myself again, "the NERVE of this man, to declare the defendant a pedophile, with absolutely no evidence!". Fast-forward, and all of the attorneys have exhausted their limit on juror dismissals, and I wind up as a juror by default. Having never seen a trial in my life other than on TV at this point, I don't realize that everything happens very quickly in this scenario; you're called up to the jury box, you sit down, and the trial begins immediately. It's at this point that I get my first glimpse of the defendant, a very bedraggled middle-aged man. Again, he's looking ragged, but I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, as he'd been in jail now for the last 8 months. "Innocent until proven guilty" after all! The judge opens the trial by reading the charges, and sure enough, the defendant is charged with attempted kidnapping of a 10 year-old girl. The prosecution presents its evidence, and it's "beyond a reasonable doubt" that this dude is a pedophile who had attempted to abduct a little girl. We deliberated for a couple of hours, and it only took that long because (and this probably only resonates with people who lived in the Bay Area during a certain time period) one of the jurors was a huge Bernie Ward fan, and he was still upset that, in his opinion, Bernie Ward had been railroaded because of his pedophilia issues and felt like a not guilty verdict or hung jury would somehow serve as justice for Bernie Ward. That one man on our jury is probably responsible for at least 10% of my overall misanthropy.
I don't know how big the Venn Diagram is of Fifth Column subscribers and people who have also been accused of racism by Al Sharpton, but it's at least one, and it was because I was on an "all-white jury" (with an Asian member, fyi) that found a defendent guilty. Rev. Sharpton came to town the next week and decried the verdict and we got collectively slammed. The experience did not do wonders for my faith in the judicial process.
My old room mate was best friends with one of Marsden's sisters. I can't remember which and I wasn't there often enough to meet either one of them, at the time I spent more time out of state than in and a home was just a place to keep the stuff I didn't need, but I distinctly remember him coming up in conversation a couple times though I wasn't really interested because I hadn't seen any X-Men films and wasn't really acquainted with his work outside of those. I don't recall what was said exactly but the impression I was left with was that he was a fantastically great guy all the way around and that came from someone who knew him pretty well.
The more I listen to this podcast, the more Moynihan convinces me that those of us with Irish heritage share some kind of primal connection to a pool of ancestral rage and irritability. I used to joke that there is a little version of Bill Burr in my chest who’s always dying to get out. Turns out Moynihan is his (likely drunk) copilot.
Now I just wish the rest of the world would stop culturally appropriating us Irish (and kind of Irish) people whenever they get angry. Get your own culture losers.
1. Return the summons letter saying you may have been exposed to covid
2. If you’re there being questioned during jury selection work in “jury nullification.” Even if you don’t know what it is one side will definitely bounce you
3. Pretend to be an anarchist. Being racist publicly is a tall order but saying you’re a anarchist isn’t. When they ask if you’ll follow the instructions of the court and apply the law as written say you won’t. You don’t acknowledge the moral authority of the court or laws per se so as a juror all factors will be considered.
Be a lawyer, especially a public defender, you'll likely never serve on a jury again. (I got called for a week I was in trial, the clerks and I had a great laugh about it).
Everyone in NY seems to be getting called for jury duty recently. I am currently listening and writing this on my way to the Jamaica Supreme Court for jury duty. I too thought I was getting out of it but alas, I was selected as an alternate. They must all use the same videos because I also noticed that the examples of implicit bias they used were more like well reasoned assumptions that any person with half a brain could infer. I’m about 4 weeks into the case with an estimated one week to go. Try not to fall asleep. You’ll find it’s more difficult than you think. One juror has had to be nudged awake several times and I’ve caught the judge sneaking in a few zzz’s at least twice now. Have fun performing your civic duty Moynihan 😢😢😢
"Your honor, I'm thrilled to be here! Actually, this is a crazy coincidence, but I was *just* reading an article about jury nullification in the well-known libertarian publication 'Re...'"
Chuck D said the dirty secret in the Black community was that everyone privately acknowledged that Paul's Boutique had the best beats of any album that came out that year.
The Three Stooges were at Columbia, not MGM, so the Three Stooges rights are now with Sony.
Kmele, you bought your child a book that is a deliberate parody of H.P. Lovecraft done in the style of Dr. Seuss! It's not a children's book! I have the Call of Cthulhu version NOT ACTUALLY FOR KIDS!
Surely I’m not the only horrible nerd that feels compelled to point out the Lovecraft story is “Dagon,” with no “r.”
Also, I’d love to hear the gents muse about why Lovecraft--who was such a legit racist that even his peers in the 30s were like “you gotta chill with that race stuff”--has survived into 2020s pop culture into a way that Gone With the Wind, etc. don’t.
Probably because "holding odious views on race and culture" and "producing transcendent fictional narratives about time-traveling space monsters" are not mutually exclusive.
There's also something dystopian about critiquing a guy based on writings he never intended to be made public (most critical writing about Lovecraft focuses on his absolutely massive private correspondence which is preserved rather than his modest output of short stories and essays). Lovecraft may be the first example of "offense archaeology".
When I skimmed the Tracy Chapman article yesterday, it occurred to me that it might be the result of a simple ChatGPT prompt: "Write an article explaining how Luke Comb's great cover of Tracy Chapman's great song Fast Car is evidence that country music exploits Black people and LGBTQ+."
Three of the biggest stars in pop country right now are Darius Rucker (who is black), Brothers Osborn (whose front man is an out gay guy), and Kane Brown (who is half white and half black). At the Brothers Osborn concert I went to, T.J. Osborn spoke from the stage about coming out as gay and how much support he feels from his fans. At the Kane Brown concert I went to, he spoke from the stage about some of the brutal racial discrimination he faced growing up. His audiences love him without qualification.
My guess is that people outraged by Comb's successful "appropriation" of Tracy Chapman's song reject or at least overlook Darius Rucker, T.J. Osborn, and Kane Brown because they don't talk about their group identities in "approved" ways. I guess they need to add Tracy Chapman herself to the list, since she is apparently delighted rather than victimized by having a white guy do a nice cover of one of her songs.
Look, deny it all you want but for decades it has been impossible for LGBT people to make a living in music, theater, dance, and other artistic professions. Impossible.
I took a sip right as I read this and almost spit it out.
I wonder if the people who are outraged actually listen to country music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwJRjf2BSD4
Can’t forget Reel Big Fish’s Tracy Chapman cover either
Your friends over at BARPOD just uploaded an episode on a scandal at Vice, and I was very disappointed to see that it didn't involve Moynihan, a ton of coke, and at least a dozen strippers of both sexes.
Gavin McGinnes took all the transvestite tail with him when he was exiled I guess
🌈 Proud bois. 🌈
Ironic. Not many people know this but the Proud Boys actually started as an inside gay joke from Anthony Cumia's Compound Media show.
I’ll make your PROOOUD of your BOOOOOOY
That makes a lot of sense. It sounds very much like a gay group.
Can’t be Proud without Pride.
What did they even talk about, then? Standards over at BARPOD really are slipping. *shaking my damn head*
That was just so normal no one noticed. Some call it a scandal, Moynihan calls it a Tuesday morning.
I just want Moynihan’s Notes.
“Normal rice” hahaha oh no Matt 😂
He might have eased the tension by telling the guy that he has a friend who isn't black and who has given everyone limitless n-word passes.
But seriously, I can easily imagine someone feeling provoked by the two combative gentlemen - but poor, innocent Matt? He's by far the nicest of the three!
Hey guys,
Will you be releasing the members only recording from this past Sunday?
This is becoming my favorite least favorite tradition here in the comments.
I really hope I didn't miss it permanently :(.
Alright, my jury duty story... San Jose, CA, circa 2007. I get called into the courtroom, and assigned my number. I think I was number 40 or so. The first 18 get called into the box. The lawyers and defendant are up front, and all I can see of them from my vantage point are their backs. The lawyers start asking questions of the perspective jurors, and the public defender asks the assembled humans, "how many of your have already determined that my client is guilty in your minds before we start this trial?" A healthy number of them raise their hands, probably at least 5 of the 18. The not-yet totally cynical 26 year-old me was horrified! How could these people possibly have already formulated a verdict against this man without having heard ANY of the evidence? So the public defender asks a follow-up question to one of the perspective jurors who had raised his hand, "why do you think my client is guilty?". The response: "because he looks like a pedophile." I thought to myself again, "the NERVE of this man, to declare the defendant a pedophile, with absolutely no evidence!". Fast-forward, and all of the attorneys have exhausted their limit on juror dismissals, and I wind up as a juror by default. Having never seen a trial in my life other than on TV at this point, I don't realize that everything happens very quickly in this scenario; you're called up to the jury box, you sit down, and the trial begins immediately. It's at this point that I get my first glimpse of the defendant, a very bedraggled middle-aged man. Again, he's looking ragged, but I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, as he'd been in jail now for the last 8 months. "Innocent until proven guilty" after all! The judge opens the trial by reading the charges, and sure enough, the defendant is charged with attempted kidnapping of a 10 year-old girl. The prosecution presents its evidence, and it's "beyond a reasonable doubt" that this dude is a pedophile who had attempted to abduct a little girl. We deliberated for a couple of hours, and it only took that long because (and this probably only resonates with people who lived in the Bay Area during a certain time period) one of the jurors was a huge Bernie Ward fan, and he was still upset that, in his opinion, Bernie Ward had been railroaded because of his pedophilia issues and felt like a not guilty verdict or hung jury would somehow serve as justice for Bernie Ward. That one man on our jury is probably responsible for at least 10% of my overall misanthropy.
Oof. I had it in February. Domestic violence he said she said. Brutal.
I am even more grateful for the beyond a reasonable doubt standard as a result.
I don't know how big the Venn Diagram is of Fifth Column subscribers and people who have also been accused of racism by Al Sharpton, but it's at least one, and it was because I was on an "all-white jury" (with an Asian member, fyi) that found a defendent guilty. Rev. Sharpton came to town the next week and decried the verdict and we got collectively slammed. The experience did not do wonders for my faith in the judicial process.
'Jury Duty' is hilarious. Worth the watch, especially since there won't be any new scripted entertainment until probably 2027.
It's worth it just for the failed attempt to get out of jury duty with "I'm a racist".
James Marsden is a gem throughout. Not sure how the protagonist didn't figure it all out during the 'Chants' scene...
My old room mate was best friends with one of Marsden's sisters. I can't remember which and I wasn't there often enough to meet either one of them, at the time I spent more time out of state than in and a home was just a place to keep the stuff I didn't need, but I distinctly remember him coming up in conversation a couple times though I wasn't really interested because I hadn't seen any X-Men films and wasn't really acquainted with his work outside of those. I don't recall what was said exactly but the impression I was left with was that he was a fantastically great guy all the way around and that came from someone who knew him pretty well.
Its oddly comforting to know he has fans
Totally. I binged it. The guy was so sweet.
There will AI scripted entertainment. Don’t worry, it will be just a terrible as human scripted.
Jeepers I don’t recall if it was mentioned on the pod but there is an article today about it on the Reason Mag site:
https://reason.com/2023/07/14/review-jury-duty-offers-a-fake-look-inside-the-justice-system/
The more I listen to this podcast, the more Moynihan convinces me that those of us with Irish heritage share some kind of primal connection to a pool of ancestral rage and irritability. I used to joke that there is a little version of Bill Burr in my chest who’s always dying to get out. Turns out Moynihan is his (likely drunk) copilot.
Now I just wish the rest of the world would stop culturally appropriating us Irish (and kind of Irish) people whenever they get angry. Get your own culture losers.
I was on a flight last night and Big Papi was seated next to me. This is a baseball podcast right ??
Lucky
Matt Welch nailed my undergrad bookshelf. Damn.😂😳
Getting out of jury duty from a lawyer:
1. Return the summons letter saying you may have been exposed to covid
2. If you’re there being questioned during jury selection work in “jury nullification.” Even if you don’t know what it is one side will definitely bounce you
3. Pretend to be an anarchist. Being racist publicly is a tall order but saying you’re a anarchist isn’t. When they ask if you’ll follow the instructions of the court and apply the law as written say you won’t. You don’t acknowledge the moral authority of the court or laws per se so as a juror all factors will be considered.
Another suggestion from a lawyer.
Be a lawyer, especially a public defender, you'll likely never serve on a jury again. (I got called for a week I was in trial, the clerks and I had a great laugh about it).
Just gotta say that jury duty in Philly pays $9 per day. Niiiine.
I still have my cheque from them. Worth more as a memento.
Gotta pay all those council and city govt pensions somehow. Who needs a functioning legal system anyhow?
Everyone in NY seems to be getting called for jury duty recently. I am currently listening and writing this on my way to the Jamaica Supreme Court for jury duty. I too thought I was getting out of it but alas, I was selected as an alternate. They must all use the same videos because I also noticed that the examples of implicit bias they used were more like well reasoned assumptions that any person with half a brain could infer. I’m about 4 weeks into the case with an estimated one week to go. Try not to fall asleep. You’ll find it’s more difficult than you think. One juror has had to be nudged awake several times and I’ve caught the judge sneaking in a few zzz’s at least twice now. Have fun performing your civic duty Moynihan 😢😢😢
"Your honor, I'm thrilled to be here! Actually, this is a crazy coincidence, but I was *just* reading an article about jury nullification in the well-known libertarian publication 'Re...'"
"You're dismissed"
Chuck D said the dirty secret in the Black community was that everyone privately acknowledged that Paul's Boutique had the best beats of any album that came out that year.
Two points:
The Three Stooges were at Columbia, not MGM, so the Three Stooges rights are now with Sony.
Kmele, you bought your child a book that is a deliberate parody of H.P. Lovecraft done in the style of Dr. Seuss! It's not a children's book! I have the Call of Cthulhu version NOT ACTUALLY FOR KIDS!
Do you have a link? I need a present for a baby shower (jk its for my old man)
Found it! H.P. Lovecraft's Dagon for Beginning Readers https://a.co/d/e67H3O8
This is the one I have: https://www.amazon.com/H-P-Lovecrafts-Cthulhu-Beginning-Readers/dp/1568821123/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1689392862&refinements=p_27%3AR.J.+Ivankovic&s=books&sr=1-1&text=R.J.+Ivankovic
There is also "Goodnight Azathoth".
https://a.co/d/hJHiDQ4
https://www.chaosium.com/h-p-lovecrafts-dagon-for-beginning-readers-hardcover/
It literally says not for kids in the Q&A on the product page.
Moms for Liberty is gonna be coming for Kmele.
I suspected that the book might have been a parody for adults...
Surely I’m not the only horrible nerd that feels compelled to point out the Lovecraft story is “Dagon,” with no “r.”
Also, I’d love to hear the gents muse about why Lovecraft--who was such a legit racist that even his peers in the 30s were like “you gotta chill with that race stuff”--has survived into 2020s pop culture into a way that Gone With the Wind, etc. don’t.
Probably because "holding odious views on race and culture" and "producing transcendent fictional narratives about time-traveling space monsters" are not mutually exclusive.
There's also something dystopian about critiquing a guy based on writings he never intended to be made public (most critical writing about Lovecraft focuses on his absolutely massive private correspondence which is preserved rather than his modest output of short stories and essays). Lovecraft may be the first example of "offense archaeology".
He has definitely not survived on Twitter. Not sure why that hasn't spread to other things.
The World Fantasy Awards in 2015 nixed the Lovecraft statue they'd used for decades