Twisters (Universal, 7.19) trailer conveys basic comfort.
Ghost of Freddie Mercury Boosts Pfizer…Superior
Don’t stop Big Pharma now.
HE Likes San Francisco QB Brock Purdy More Than Travis Kelce
I’m sorry but San Francisco 49er QB Brock Purdy, 24, is playing a brilliant game, hasn’t lost his temper, and is better looking than Travis Kelce.
Kelce’s meltdown wasn’t cool. His temper could eventually contribute to the end of the Taylor thing…who knows?
It’s halftime and the Chiefs are seven points behind the 49ers, 10 to 3. The Chiefs are going to lose…I can feel it. Update: The score is now 10 to 4, 49ers still in the lead.
Taylor Swift is too old for Purdy, of course. Plus he has a girlfriend, Jenna Brandt.

Marty Paycheck: Squarespace, “Independence Day”, ’50s Sci-Fi Whatevs
I don’t begrudge any name-brand director pocketing hefty dough on the side. The pudgy old guy in the diner is the guy who had a tense discussion with Javier Bardem (“Call it”) in No Country For Old Men.

Black National Anthem + White National Anthem = Even Steven
Francis Scott Key’s “The Star Spangled Banner” + James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” So why did that super-tattooed guy sing “America the Beautiful”? Was that meant to represent a non-tribal togetherness song?

HE Will Actually Watch Superbowl — First Time Since Late ’90s
Because I’ve never watched Travis Kelce on the field and because of the presence of Taylor Swift and the likely halftime wedding ceremony, HE has decided to actually sit down and watch Super Bowl LVIII — the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers meeting at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas — CBS, 6:30 pm eastern.
I haven’t watched any pro football game this century, although I think I watched a game sometime in the late ’90s.
I’m kidding about the halftime wedding, of course. I don’t expect Swift and Kelce to stay together for too many months longer. They might last until the late summer or early fall, but that’s all.

Citizens Revolt Against Driverless Cars
HE doesn’t approve of torching cars in the middle of San Francisco, but I understand the sentiment. Fuck those Waymo self-driving vehicles! Rowdy and dangerous, but I get it.
BREAKING: An autonomous Waymo vehicle is intentionally set on fire in Chinatown, according to SF Fire. Firefighters said they got reports around 10 people were involved.
Waymo said “a crowd surrounded and vandalized the vehicle, breaking the window and throwing a firework … pic.twitter.com/6QN2jTppRu
— Gia Vang (@Gia_Vang) February 11, 2024
Withered Biden Is All But Finished
Joe Biden ducking the traditional Super Bowl interview speaks volumes. I wouldn’t call him a dead man, but he’s certainly in need of intensive political care.
Consider this passage from David French‘s “Yes, Biden’s Age Matters,” posted today in the N.Y. Times (November 11th).
Bob Costas Is 100% Correct
For the good of the country and our currently fragile tradition of democracy, President Joe Biden really, really has to do a Lyndon Johnson as soon as possible — “I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination of the Democratic Party for another term as your president.”
Because while he may be able to muddle through, Woodrow Wilson– or Ronald Reagan-style, between now and January 20, 2029 if re-elected, Biden is obviously too old and diminished to run against The Beast.
C’mon, man…wake up. Johnson read the writing on the wall 56 years ago and right now there are only two people who can’t read the present moment — Joe and Jill Biden.
It’s possible that Biden might be able to squeak through to a micro-slender victory in November…maybe…but nobody believes this to be a likely scenario. People are finally starting to realize that it’s actually, truth be told, unlikely.
If he comes to his senses and throws in the towel, Biden’s reputation will suddenly become that of a noble statesman.
Spoken two nights ago on Real Time with Bill Maher but for some reason not on YouTube:


Comedy Is Hard To Get Right
I never laughed at the original James Carville joke of ruthlessness, to wit:

But I just heard the same line tweaked by The Warning’s Steve Schmidt — he omitted “sonuvabitch” and changed “anvil” to “fucking bowling ball” — and suddenly it was funny.
Anvil = not funny. Bowling ball = funny. Probably because most of us have never even seen an anvil but everyone knows how heavy a bowling ball is
Funny Judd Apatow line from last night’s DGA Awards: The 2024 Presidential race is going to be between “a guy old enough to have met Hitler and a guy who wishes he had.”