MEET THE NEW BOSS. SAME AS WORSE THAN THE OLD BOSS?
Archive for 2025
January 12, 2025
QUESTIONS NOBODY IS ASKING: Who is Robbie Williams and why is he a chimpanzee in Better Man?
In the U.K., Robbie Williams is a major megastar — and has been for decades. But not so much in the U.S. For whatever reason, Williams’ charming, edgy pop tunes and self-deprecating sense of humor never have quite clicked with Americans.
That might change with the new biopic about Williams, “Better Man,” which first opened in theaters on Dec. 25 but is about to go wide on Jan. 17.
Following the beats of a classic biopic, “Better Man” has a major twist: Williams — who voices and sings the character — is portrayed as a computer-generated chimpanzee.
Let’s find out why.
Or perhaps, let’s not. As Variety reports:
Expanding to 1,291 venues this weekend, the wacky Robbie Williams biopic “Better Man” isn’t exactly going bananas with a puny $580,000 opening day. Paramount, working with some co-financiers, acquired the feature for North America distribution (and Japan and France) for $25 million.
Helmed by “Greatest Showman” director Michael Gracey, “Better Man” drew strong reviews playing fall festivals, with critics largely taken by the premise of having Williams represented by a CGI chimpanzee because, as he puts it in the trailer, he always felt “less evolved than other people.” But the film fizzled in its limited release in late December and, after hoping to plant a flag in awards season, has faded mightily among Oscar prognosticators. Williams is a U.K. icon, but has mostly remained obscure stateside, and a domestic marketing campaign that has emphasized the primate premise over the central pop star didn’t take.
Over the decades, many acts have become household name superstars in England, but fail to make much of a dent in the American market. (QED: Cliff Richard, Roxy Music, and Kate Bush until Stranger Things). As the Critical Drinker tweets, “A biopic about a singer who was notorious for failing to crack America and hasn’t even been relevant in over a decade. Who exactly thought this was a good idea?”
Having seen the trailer for Better Man several times this past fall and during the holiday season, and knowing nothing about Williams, it didn’t exactly inspire me to want to see what seemed like Planet of the Apes: The Boy Band Era.
TWO MEN ARRESTED AFTER BURGLARY CALL AT BRENTWOOD HOME OF VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS:
The Brentwood home of Vice President Kamala Harris, which lies within a Palisades fire evacuation zone, may have made it a target for would-be burglars Saturday.
The Los Angeles Police Department dispatched officers to Harris’ home about 4:30 a.m. Saturday when they received a burglary call of two men in black jumpsuits outside, KNX reported.
The officers detained two men, the radio station reported. It was unclear if they were then arrested.
According to local TV network KTLA, “LAPD said officers detained the two people who were breaking curfew, but have since released them as they found no evidence that they were committing a crime.”
Based on her actions in 2020, Kamala would have wanted it that way, presumably: Kamala Harris Lies, Claiming That She Never Promoted the Bail Fund That Bailed Out BLM Rioters As Well As Murderers and R4pists; But the Tweet In Which She Promoted that Bail Fund Is Still Up!
(And it’s still up to this day.)
Or is this a case akin to “Riots For Thee, But Not For Me?”
KEEP YOUR FEET WARM: Bruno Marc Men’s Suede Leather Chelsea Ankle Boots. #CommissionEarned
INTERESTING:
Interesting chart from GS that unlike the US, Eurozone, China, and Japan did not return back to their pre-pandemic real GDP economic growth trend. pic.twitter.com/ixA6YOkX0c
— Eugene Ng (@EugeneNg_VCap) January 10, 2025
WELL, TO BE FAIR, DAVID FRUM IS A PUTZ:
Remembering those bygone days when you could turn to Twitter for fast and trustworthy information on a rapidly developing story like:
– The reseviors were all full
– Hunter's laptop
– Covington Catholic
– White supremacist at Youngkin rally
– Border Control whips
– Jussie… https://t.co/t3zsVB6cwf— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) January 11, 2025
AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD:
Nation Gets Preview Of Gavin Newsom Presidency https://t.co/b0iygizkHt pic.twitter.com/Hqmnt2STLs
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) January 10, 2025
THE ENEMY WITHIN:
One of the main organizers behind the UPenn encampment just posted, "I would give up every right and freedom I have right now to be a part of Oct. 7th."
Never let anyone tell you the encampments were pro-peace. This is the type of rhetoric @penn allows to foster on campus. pic.twitter.com/kNQ1laz77N
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) January 11, 2025
GLOBAL WARMING INTENSIFIES: California Fires: Multiple people accused of arson as firestorm rages in LA.
AN IDEA SO CRAZY IT JUST MIGHT WORK:
Overheard in California: “But wouldn’t it be easier to just run it… competently?”
— Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 (@pmarca) January 12, 2025
REMEMBER, FINANCIAL CRISIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SLASH PROGRAMS: Why America Is in So Much Trouble. “There aren’t too many problems in America that can’t be traced back to the growth of big and incompetent government. . . . This road to financial perdition cannot stand. It risks blowing up the Trump presidency. Upon entering office, Trump should on day one call for a package of up to $500 billion of rescissions — money the last Congress appropriated but has not been spent yet. Canceling the green energy subsidies alone could save nearly $100 billion. Why are we still spending money on COVID-19? We could save tens of billions of dollars by ending corporate welfare programs — such as the wheelbarrows full of tax dollars thrown at companies like Intel in the CHIPS Act. The Elon Musk Department of Government Efficiency is already identifying low-hanging fruit that needs to be cut from the tree. Along with extending the Trump tax cut of 2017, this erasure of bloated federal spending is critical for economic revival and for reversing the income losses to the middle class under Biden. This is especially urgent because the curse of inflation is NOT over. Since the Fed started cutting interest rates in October, commodity prices are up nearly 5%, and mortgage rates have again hit 7%, in part because the combination of cheap money and government expansion is a toxic economic brew — as history teaches us. Nothing could suck the oxygen and excitement out of the new Trump presidency more than a resumption of inflation at the grocery store and the gas pump. Trump’s record-high approval rating will sink overnight if the cost of everything starts rising again.”
And if it happens, the press, which covered for Biden, will do its best to amplify it.
LIGHTNING DEAL: Telescope, 90mm Aperture 700mm – Vertisteel AZ Mounting Base. #CommissionEarned
I HAVE BEEN PROUD TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE POST.
Anyone else notice that NY Post is the only news outlet that has covered the nonstop crime in NYC?
I haven't seen the NYT write a single story about the daily stabbings, shootings, and muggings. https://t.co/rHXXh14kgg
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) January 12, 2025
BETTER DEAD THAN RUDE: Newsom Continues to Flail, Sends Out Cringe Email Slamming People Who ‘Laugh About Gay Firefighters.’
Newsom earlier Saturday claimed on social media: “I’m not interested in politicizing a natural disaster.” In this email, however, he proceeded to do exactly that:
Now, if you’ll allow me, let me add a few words about Donald Trump, as his allies lie about water policy and laugh about gay firefighters – while people are literally fleeing as homes, churches and schools burn down. It sickens me to my core.
You have probably heard the saying, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes” – well, that is especially true right now. We will combat these politically motivated lies. But our focus today isn’t on meme wars, it’s on firefighting. And showing up for Californians who have lost everything.
What exactly did Trump lie about? Notice there are no specifics. Are you saying there were no problems with the water supply, Governor? Tell that to the firefighters in the Palisades, who sometimes had to resort to desperate measures to attack the flames.
Nobody’s “laughing about gay firefighters,” but we are pointing out their self-admitted weaknesses, to borrow from another L.A. institution’s motto, when it comes to protecting and serving L.A.’s citizens:
A woman who can't haul me out — 6'3", 215 lbs — probably can't carry out an obese lesbian either, so we're both in the wrong place, sister. https://t.co/gJc47CQGXH
— @instapundit (@instapundit) January 12, 2025
(Classical reference in headline.)
I MENTIONED JIM BENNETT’S SUGGESTION ALONG THESE LINES HERE EARLIER. NOW IT’S GETTING TRACTION: An Alternative to Buying Greenland That Could Actually Work.
Greenlanders are almost entirely indigenous Inuit peoples, not Danes. They have their own language and their own culture. They do not want to be a tiny part of a vast, culturally alien nation.
They don’t want to change which larger country they are part of; they want independence.
So, Denmark doesn’t want to sell to us, and Greenland doesn’t want to join us. Does that mean the case is closed?
Not at all. Trump can use Greenland’s desire for independence to leverage a deal that gives him almost everything he wants while also appealing to Greenland’s and Denmark’s pride and interests.
That’s what a COFA could do. The United States has three such treaties with the Republic of Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands. The U.S. supplies each with economic aid and access to many government programs such as Medicaid. Imports from these countries are largely tariff-free, and citizens of these nations can live and work in the United States.
In exchange, the U.S. handles all defense obligations. It can exclude other nations’ militaries, has certain rights to station troops and establish bases, and can operate its military forces within these nations’ boundaries.
This would meet the American desire to keep China and, to a lesser extent, Russia out of its backyard. The Arctic Ocean ice is rapidly melting, making the Arctic Sea lanes viable for shipping. China has shown a keen interest in the region, establishing a Polar Silk Road program to encourage its dominance in this increasingly important part of the world.
China has also tried to establish an economic foothold in Greenland. The island is reported to have significant reserves of rare earth minerals needed for modern electronic equipment — and China is currently the globe’s major supplier. It has also tried to exploit Greenland’s control over its own mineral development to start and explore for oil and natural gas.
I like this idea.
Related: Denmark to Trump: Let’s Make a Deal?
As fires continue to destroy Los Angeles, the incompetence of that city’s leadership, along with that of the State of California, is coming into focus. It is almost incredible that anyone could do as bad a job as Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom have done. Many instances of their incompetence have come to light, but Michael Shellenberger takes the broad view, explaining how progressive politics inevitably led to the current disaster. Please do read the whole thing:
For more than a decade, the media, Democrats, and Hollywood have told us that Western civilization in general and the United States in particular are white supremacist, genocidal, and unsustainable. The founding of America occurred not in 1776 but rather in 1619 with the… pic.twitter.com/jD4f0Mq3oo
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) January 10, 2025
But don’t worry — the dancing TikTok nurses Mayor Bass’s crack team have things totally under control:
Real dancing nurses vibes pic.twitter.com/uWtE9dfA56
— Daniel Greenfield – "Hang Together or Separately" (@Sultanknish) January 12, 2025
I BELIEVE THIS:
There is a culture of Ped0philia among the British elite.
They are protecting each other now because they know how common it is among them.
That is also why they don’t prosecute the Pakistani gangs. The British elite don’t view it as a real crime. https://t.co/yZnNEEdq8M
— Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav) January 11, 2025
The gangs may also have blackmail material. Gangs usually do.
BRYAN CAPLAN: How Bad Is White Nationalism? “White nationalism is one of the most reviled ideologies on earth. But what exactly is so awful about it? Menachem Rosensaft‘s piece in Slate quotes some leading white nationalists, but never really explains why this nationalism is worse than all other nationalisms.”
January 11, 2025
OPEN THREAD: Have your usual wild Saturday night.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: Watch Blue Origin launch its 1st New Glenn rocket early Sunday in a free livestream.
I wish them luck.
I’VE BEEN SAYING THIS SINCE 2021: It’s shocking that a man in this mental condition is President of the United States.
YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK:
Confirming that FEMA is kicking people out of hotels right now.
On the phone with a man and his girlfriend, hotel kicking him out as we speak.
He's frantically screaming into the phone, "THERE IS SNOW EVERYWHERE AND I DON'T EVEN HAVE A TENT MAN, PLEASE HELP ME!"
— Matt Van Swol (@matt_vanswol) January 11, 2025
THE LORD MOVES IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS:
So James Woods’ house miraculously survived after left-wingers said it burning down was a sign from God.
So what’s the sign now? Will we get any updates?
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) January 10, 2025