Game of Thrones Sigil Teaser.

I’ve never seen the show (or read the books), but I know most everyone else on the planet has, so here’s their opening teaser. If you head over to the Creators Project, you can also view their FB special:

A crew on Facebook Live placed a solid chunk of ice containing the release date on a pedestal next to a flamethrower. “Type ‘FIRE’ in the comments to reveal the #GoTS7 premiere date,” they instructed fans, and with each new comment they blasted the ice with fire. At the end of the 11-minute video, the date was revealed…

There’s more at the link!

Couch Gag.

1489092836805-Screen-Shot-2017-03-09-at-35243-PM.png

Bill Plympton’s instantly-recognizable mix of naïveté and rule-breaking will greet viewers of The Simpsons‘ 613th episode, “22 for 30.” The Oscar-nominated indie animator behind I Married a Strange Person! (1997), Mutant Aliens (2001), and Cheatin’ (2014) returns to Matt Groening’s juggernaut sitcom for the fifth time on March 12, delivering a meta love letter to animation that breaks the fourth, and kicks it while it’s down.

It’s great to see Plympton again, but a word of warning, don’t get carried along too much by charm of this particular couch scene, it has a rather unexpected ending. (If you’ve ever stabbed yourself with a pencil, might want to skip it all together.)

The Creators Project has the full story.

Go Fuck Yourself, Maher.

bill-maher-milo-yiannopoulos

Bill Maher is now taking credit for the downfall of Milo Yiannopoulos. Yep. Having him on HBO, playing nice and whispering sweet talk at those pearls, that led to the current state of affairs. Had nothing at all to do with the video of Yiannopoulos talking about sex with underage kids, oh no, even though that is the line crossed, according to CPAC and Simon & Schuster. Supposedly, the resignation from Breitbart was all Milo’s idea, but there’s good reason to be skeptical over that one. The one thing which is absolutely certain? Bill Maher had absolutely nothing to do with it. Go fuck yourself, you bloated bag of shit.

Full story here. For an outstanding look from the inside, read this article.

Star Trek: Discovery.

Courtesy of CBS.

Courtesy of CBS.

I should come out from under my rock more often, I had no idea that yet another Trek was in the works. It really is the show that won’t die, and it seems like diversity might actually make some inroads this time around. We’ve finally come a long way from the days of Spock’s ears being airbrushed out. Took long enough.

As casting rumors are confirmed, Star Trek: Discovery is boasting one of the most diverse casts in the franchise’s history—and we’re not just talking about the aliens.

The latest news is that out actor Maulik Pancholy will play Dr. Nambue, the chief medical officer. There’s no news whether the character will be gay, but no worries: Discovery will feature an original gay character for the series, Lt. Stamets, who will be played by Anthony Rapp.

That’s just the beginning for Discovery’s crew. We already know that the lead character will be played by The Walking Dead’s Sonequa Martin-Green, who is only the second woman to lead a Star Trek series (after Voyager) and the first woman of color. Another ship in the series will be captained by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’s Michelle Yeoh.

[…]

Rumors are still circling about a premiere date for Discovery, but CBS speculates sometime this year—possibly the summer.

Via Out.

Mary Tyler Moore Has Walked On.

Mary Tyler Moore.

Mary Tyler Moore.

Popular television actress Mary Tyler Moore has passed away at age 80, Bradd Jaffy of NBC News is reporting.

“Mary will be remembered as a fearless visionary who turned the world on with her smile,” Moore’s representative said in a statement.

The former dancer turned comedic actress was taken to a Connecticut hospital on Wednesday where she had been listed in grave condition.

Moore has long battled diabetes, and underwent brain surgery in 2011.

For many of us, Ms. Moore was a part of our lives over decades. She was tremendously talented in the really hard stuff, comedy, and equally talented when it came to drama. She fought for little things that were truly big – like one episode of the Mary Tyler Moore show having Mary looking for, and referring to her birth control pills. That might seem like a tiny insignificant thing, but it wasn’t. Back in the day, that was one hell of a daring move, making it a fact that the lovely, very single Mary was sexually active.

Ms. Moore was also a tireless activist for diabetes awareness and research. She gave a great deal to so very many people, and she was widely and dearly loved. She’ll be widely and dearly missed, too. Goodbye, Mary, and thank you.

Via Raw Story.

Alice King Chatham.

A helmet from the 1961 Mercury spacesuit. The space helmet wouldn’t be the same had it not been for Alice King Chatham’s contributions. NASA.

A helmet from the 1961 Mercury spacesuit. The space helmet wouldn’t be the same had it not been for Alice King Chatham’s contributions. NASA.

Who is the real Alice King Chatham, sculptor of helmets worn by monkey astronauts?

That was the question posed to a panel of four celebrities—one of whom was Betty White—in the August 31, 1964 episode of the game show To Tell The Truth. The host, Bud Collyer, presented three people to the panel, all of whom claimed to be King Chatham.

Straight out of the past, here’s that episode of To Tell the Truth. I remember watching that show when I was a sproglet. King Chatham is the last contestant.

During the height of 1960s space and flight exploration in the United States, Alice King Chatham worked behind the scenes creating partial-pressure pilot suits, test dummies, oxygen masks, space beds, and helmets for NASA and the U.S. Air Force. She even helped design suits for the television show Star Trek.

In the early 1940s, King Chatham was working as an artist and sculptor when she was recruited by the Air Force to help make the first successful oxygen breathing masks worn by all American World War II pilots. She was involved in an array of major experiments, studies, and projects, from creating space helmets for the 1963 first man-in-space program Project Mercury to designing prototype suits for monkeys that flew in the Aerobee sub-orbital rocket tests during the 1940s.

It was not uncommon for female artists to be recruited into the U.S. Army for their skills during wartime. Around 1943, King Chatham had been sculpting ducks, dogs, and horses at the Art Institute in Dayton, Ohio, when she received a request from the head of the anthropology unit at Wright Field’s Aero-Medical Laboratory, Francis Randall. “As an artist and sculptress she understood the human body,” reported Lee Street for The Baltimore Sun in 1953.

[…]

King Chatham became an expert of the flight helmet and the lab’s equipment specialist for personal protective gear. She is credited with developing a new pressure helmet that improved an iteration of the 1946 S-1 pressure flight suits, and special ear counter-pressure devices.

Scientists came to King Chatham with a list of different criteria for different kinds of helmets—one with a breathing tube, a microphone, and an opening for liquid feeding. She would, over several months, fashion experimental models out of rubber, plastics, and fabrics.

 “The professional men at the Laboratory admit they don’t know how she does it,” Street wrote.

The full story of King Chatham’s contributions is at Atlas Obscura.

Neil Patrick Harris is Count Olaf.

After years of chasing a laugh track on How I Met Your Mother, the actor is following roles in Gone Girl and American Horror Story with Netflix’s new Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, based on the classic children’s books. In the new super-stylized series, Harris stars as the villainous Olaf, who becomes the guardian of three orphans solely to abscond with their fortune.

“I’m drawn to puzzles and darkness,” says Harris. “The Alfred Hitchcock–y vibe is something I’ve been into since I was kid, and I loved Gene Wilder’s take on Willy Wonka and Bridge to Terabithia.”

Aside from being just plain rotten, Harris’s alter ego is also a rotten aspiring musical-theater actor — basically, a much crappier, much uglier version of himself.

“Playing someone so miserable makes things hard to complain about,” says Harris, who spends two and a half hours having prosthetics applied for the role. “I can ingest my annoyances and use them.”

Going by the trailer, Harris also infuses the role of Count Olaf with humor. A performance to look forward to, along with the rest of the cast.

Via Out.

Facebook, Oh Facebook XIII.

Susan Olsen.

Susan Olsen.

According to Towleroad, writer/producer Leon Acord-Whiting complained about ‘Two Chicks Talkin’ Politics’ host Susan Olson, who once portrayed Cindy Brady on the popular sit-com. On LA Talk Radio’s Facebook page, Acord-Whiting wrote, “It is wildly irresponsible for LA Talk Radio to allow a Trump fanatic to co-host one of their programs, where she can spew her idiotic lies unchecked.”

Acord-Whting, added, “I think LA Talk Radio needs to give “Cindy Brady” her walking papers. I will not listen to or appear on any shows there from this point forward until she’s gone. This isn’t just disagreeing on, say, tax plans or foreign policy. Susan Olsen spreads outrageous misinformation & it is dangerous and unprofessional.”

Proving his point about being “unprofessional,” Olson returned fire by first calling the producer a “little piece of human waste,” before encouraging her followers to track him down.

She then private messaged Acord-Whiting with a homophobic screed which he in turn provided to her bosses.

“Hey there little p*ssy, let me get my big boy pants on and Reallly (sic) take you on!!! What a snake in the grass you are you lying piece of sh*t too cowardly to confront me in real life so you do it on Facebook,” she wrote. “You are the biggest f*ggot ass in the world the biggest p*ssy! My Dick is bigger than yours Which ain’t sayin much! What a true piece of sh*t you are! Lying f*ggot! I hope you meet your karma SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY”

Olsen later followed with a second message, telling Acord-Whiting, “I sincerely hope you reap all that you deserve Karma wise. What a pathetic little c*nt you are. Hell is waiting for you. ENJOY!”

Yes, Ms. Olsen starred all those naughty words. A bit boggling, that. Ms. Olsen also found out what happens to many people when their employer discovers what they do on facebook – they find themselves unemployed.

In a statement posted on Facebook Saturday morning, La Talk Radio said they have fired Olsen, writing: “LA Talk Radio takes pride in its close and collaborative relationship with the LGBT community, and will continue to provide a home for those who have hopeful and positive messages of togetherness and tolerance to share with our listeners. We will not tolerate hateful speech by anyone associated with our radio station and have severed our ties with a host that veered off the direction in which we are going.”

Towleroad has this story in two parts, with screenshots: one, two.

Labor Secretary: Burgers, Bikinis, Very American.

*CKE Restaurants CEO Andy Puzder speaks at a news conference on Wednesday, August 6, 2014 in Austin, Texas. CREDIT: Jack Plunkett/AP Images.

*CKE Restaurants CEO Andy Puzder speaks at a news conference on Wednesday, August 6, 2014 in Austin, Texas. CREDIT: Jack Plunkett/AP Images.

Trump has appointed an open sexist to the position of labor secretary, which oversees discrimination laws, equal pay, and The Women’s Bureau. This man probably laughed delightedly over the prez-elect’s pussy grabbing ways. He certainly seems to have little use for women outside of using them in unbelievably sexist, hypersexualized adverts. I haven’t seen any of these previously, because no television, and I am very grateful for that right now. I once met Carl Karcher, in the capacity of a servant – I was wait staff at one of his daughter’s wedding rehearsals or some such. Massive house and grounds, hundreds of people, and the Karchers were quite nice. Mrs. Karcher was particularly nice when I walked right into a sliding glass door which had previously been open. Unfortunately, they were also rabid conservatives, and supported evil institutions, such as the Catholic church and the John Birch Society, among others. I rather expect the Karchers would be more than a bit alarmed and disapproving of Puzder’s tactics. Here’s one of the ads:

Ad link.

…The fast food chains have continuously released these ads since 2005, even when research shows that most Americans find them offensive. According to a market research firm that tested an ad showing model Charlotte McKinney walking, seemingly naked, through a farmer’s market, 52 percent of viewers found the ad offensive and 51 percent found it irritating and annoying.

Yet as Mic reported, Puzder — who has led the company since 2000 — has defended the strategy. “I like our ads. I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it’s very American,” he told Entrepreneur last year. “I used to hear, brands take on the personality of the CEO. And I rarely thought that was true, but I think this one, in this case, it kind of did take on my personality.”

He also claimed that he would take issue if people were not offended by the ads.

“If you don’t complain, I go to the head of marketing and say, ‘What’s wrong with our ads?’” he said. …

Our new secretary of labor. Impressed? Think Progress has the full story.

Presidential Apprentice.

CREDIT: Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP.

CREDIT: Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP.

The presidency isn’t enough for Donald Trump.

While in the Oval Office, he’ll moonlight as an executive producer for Celebrity Apprentice, the NBC show he starred on for more than a decade.

It is not merely a ceremonial role. Trump will be paid at least five-figures per episode, Variety reports.

The arrangement is an unprecedented, ongoing financial entanglement between NBC, which also operates one of the nation’s leading news organizations, and a sitting president. Trump will be paid by MGM, which produces the show.

In June 2015, after Trump made bigoted remarks about immigrants, NBC publicly severed its financial relationship with him and said he would no longer be participating in The Apprentice.

“He would never be back on Celebrity Apprentice, as long as I’m here,” NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt said.

That, apparently, is all in the past.

The unusual arrangement also raises questions about the role Mark Burnett, the creator of The Apprentice, played in bottling up footage that could have damaged Trump’s presidential campaign.

[…]

A source told BuzzFeed that Burnett “is pro-Trump and has made clear to his teams that he will sue anyone who leaks.”

Burnett denied the allegations. He also released a statement denying he was even a Trump supporter.

[…]

Burnett’s conduct after the campaign suggests he was being less than candid. In addition to keeping Trump on as a paid executive producer, Burnett is also reportedly helping Trump plan his inaugural festivities.

According to the New York Times, Burnett suggested “a parade up Fifth Avenue, a helicopter ride to Washington from New York that could hold the attention of millions of people expected to watch from around the world.”

The Times described Burnett as one of Trump’s two “oldest friends.”

Asked about the arrangement spokesperson Hope Hicks said that Trump had “a big stake in the show.” Trump has previously described himself holding 50 percent ownership.

Trump’s decision to maintain a paid position with Celebrity Apprentice reflects his overall disregard for conflicts of interest that could impact his presidency.

Think Progress has the full story. It’s going to be short attention span government, won’t that be fun?