'Out of touch'

'Damage to our institutions from this outcome'

Dot a few i's‚ and cross a few t's‚ and — presto! — you're disencumbered from the costly burden of paying taxes

A video shared on Instagram claims attorney Alina Habba purportedly said Judge Lewis Kaplan took a $5‚000‚000 bribe to convict former President Donald Trump in his recent defamation trial.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by j.bisono (@system_free.1776) Verdict: False There is no evidence Habba made the purported remark. In addition‚ […]

'The quality of his voice can be very terrifying sometimes - thunderous'

Rule #1 of effective communications: always be on offense

Most know Jeff Pilson as the thundering bassist for Dokken in the ’80s. Classic records like Tooth and Nail (1984)‚ Under Lock and Key (1985)‚ and Back for the Attack (1987) are prime examples of Pilson’s signature growling tone and low-key songsmith alongside good friend and bandmate George Lynch. Dokken aside‚ Pilson has had a career filled with twists and turns. He’s made stops along the way with Michael Lee Firkins‚ Michael Schenker‚ and Craig Goldy and was a key member of Dio’s band from the early ’90s to the early 2000s before joining Foreigner in 2004‚ where he’s been a pillar of their modern lineup‚ and The post Jeff Pilson of Foreigner: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

News Fantastic Four All Those Fantastic Four Casting Rumors Were True Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby will lead Marvel’s First Family By Molly Templeton | Published on February 14‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed You have to kinda wonder why it took this long to make it official. Rumors have been swirling around Marvel’s Fantastic Four for months and months‚ and back in November‚ it seemed all but certain that Pedro Pascal would be suiting up as Reed Richards before much longer. And he is! And so is everyone else who was strongly rumored to be playing Marvel’s First Family. Vanessa Kirby is Sue Storm/the Invisible Woman; Joseph Quinn is Johnny Storm/the Human Torch; and Ebon Moss-Bachrach is Ben Grimm/the Thing. Happy Valentine’s Day from Marvel’s First Family! Pedro Pascal‚ Vanessa Kirby‚ Ebon Moss-Bachrach‚ and Joseph Quinn are The Fantastic Four.Marvel Studios' #TheFantasticFour‚ in theaters July 25‚ 2025. pic.twitter.com/dOmLG0m7ie— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) February 14‚ 2024 It’s a solid lineup‚ if you choose to ignore the fact that Reed and Sue are generally a couple‚ and Pascal is 13 years older than Kirby‚ which plays into a thousand cliches about how Hollywood casts men and women differently as they age—and how Marvel continues to have a notable issue casting women over 40 (or letting their characters live). Pascal‚ of course‚ is the Mandalorian‚ and Joel in The Last of Us (pictured above)‚ and once upon a time got his head squished like a grape on Game of Thrones. Kirby’s most visible role might be in the latest Missions: Impossible‚ but she has also been in The Crown and Napoleon‚ and once upon a time was fantastic in a stage production of A Streetcar Named Desire that also starred Gillian Anderson and Ben Foster. (It was intense.) Quinn is mostly known for his be-mulleted Stranger Things character‚ though he has also done a lot of British television work (and had a tiny role on Game of Thrones) and co-stars in the upcoming‚ unnecessary Quiet Place prequel. Moss-Bachrach often plays a guy one loves to hate; he played Marnie’s terrible boyfriend on Girls‚ a creep on Andor‚ and now yells in the kitchen on The Bear. (And he was on The Punisher and Nos4A2.) The Fantastic Four movie will be directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision) and has a screenply by Josh Friedman‚ Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer. Friedman’s name has been turning up in a ton of SFF movie and TV news lately (he co-created Foundation and co-developed the Snowpiercer series)‚ which is quite interesting if‚ say‚ you’ve been intrigued by his work since the untimely demise of The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Now that the film’s primary cast (sans Doctor Doom‚ anyway) is set‚ Marvel has moved the release date‚ swapping Fantastic Four and for Thunderbolts. Fantastic Four will arrive in theaters July 25‚ 2025‚ with Thunderbolts taking the movie’s previous date‚ May 2‚ 2025. [end-mark] The post All Those <;i>;Fantastic Four<;/i>; Casting Rumors Were True appeared first on Reactor.

Book Recommendations book culture Five Ways You Might Be Crushing on a Book Book crushes come in many forms‚ nearly as many as IRL crushes. By Natalie Zutter | Published on February 14‚ 2024 Photo: Lucas George Wendt [via Unsplash] icon-comment 1 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed Photo: Lucas George Wendt [via Unsplash] Have you ever developed a crush… on a book itself? Was the experience of reading itself enough to make you giggly‚ lightheaded‚ short of breath‚ flushed‚ self-conscious but also delighted? Feeling like you’d tapped in to some story that felt impossibly tailored for you‚ hitting all your narrative buttons? That you then denied all “psh! it can’t be!” even as you tried to play it off like you weren’t hanging on every word on every page you couldn’t turn fast enough? Book crushes come in many forms‚ nearly as many as IRL crushes. These are just a few‚ but perhaps you’ll find something familiar in the reading experiences described… Infatuation Y: The Last Man wasn’t my first book crush—that honor goes to Alanna: The First Adventure‚ when I was nine—but it was the first one where I realized what was happening in real time. I was 21‚ whiling away my summer working at the Bodies Exhibition at New York City’s South Street Seaport‚ and I needed some reading material for the slow periods. I picked up the first trade of Y‚ and within minutes I had to put it back down‚ my heart racing. Something about it hit too close to home: the premise was completely in my wheelhouse‚ the kind of what-if that I’d pondered but never dared to try and write; Yorick and 355 and Beth and Hero talked like my friends and I did; every female character was a different shade of witty or badass in all the ways I wished I could be. The story was cinematic‚ the stakes heartstring-tugging‚ and I was half-convinced this was some elaborate punking‚ that Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra were inexplicably paid to write and draw the story that I didn’t realize I craved‚ as both a reader and a writer. It was that first flush of infatuation‚ yes‚ but it was also “I feel seen.” I couldn’t get enough; I tried to ration out the other nine trades based on the rest of the summer and my meager paychecks‚ but it was a losing battle. I was a goner ever since that first panel hit me like Cupid’s arrow. Book-Throwing Passion Lots of people have their “the one book I threw across the room‚” which can be prompted by anything from a frustrating cliffhanger to bad characterization to problematic content. Or‚ perhaps‚ inarticulate delight. I’ve written about how I can’t get enough of getting fooled by Megan Whalen Turner’s maddeningly brilliant thief Eugenides‚ but that doesn’t mean that I go along quietly each time it happens. There has been at least one moment in every book from The Queen’s Thief series that‚ upon learning the latest clever bit of narrative misdirection‚ I will slam the book onto my lap‚ sit up on the couch‚ and yell something akin to “THEY FUCKING GOT ME AGAIN.” Think of it as the book equivalent to the passionate slap in a romantic comedy—I just love it so freaking much that I’m angry about it‚ and nothing will fix it but pulling the book back up to cover my face and read furiously‚ or page back through a key scene to go over it with fresh eyes. Sometimes I have to shove the book aside like I can’t even look at it‚ pace the room‚ talk aloud to my confused pup about how I could have missed the mention of the secret passageway or thrown inkwell‚ and eventually sigh and succumb to finishing the book knowing that Gen’s plan worked. But Is There Fanfic? Connie Willis’ Crosstalk was one of those books I looked forward to from the moment I knew about its existence‚ namely for the screwball comedy premise of being able to read people’s thoughts. A spec-fic rom-com in the style of Nora Ephron? Cue the heart-eyes. The only wrinkle was‚ a book so cognizant of tropes had one glaringly obvious one smack in the middle of its own text: Heroine Briddey’s boyfriend Trent‚ who suggests they get this experimental procedure that will allow them to connect telepathically‚ is so clearly a jerk from the start. The fact that Briddey can’t hear Trent’s thoughts‚ but seems instead to be on the same frequency with her grumpy‚ nerdy coworker C.B. Schwartz‚ only makes it more obvious. Hallmark and Lifetime have taught us to recognize the formula: Trent is clearly the ill-fitting partner who seems to get her but really doesn’t‚ and perhaps even has bad intentions for their relationship; it’s not a question of if he’ll lose out to the story’s true romantic hero‚ but when. The lack of any redeeming qualities for Trent made it a tad difficult to appreciate any plot tension in Crosstalk—but in terms of romantic tension? Wowee. With Briddey and C.B. dancing around inside each other’s heads‚ with him mentally and sometimes physically comforting her with his teachings on how to build a fortress in her mind‚ I was flipping pages and yelling “KISS ALREADY!” The moment I finished the book‚ with the romantic tension barely resolved and if anything even more stoked‚ there was only one place I could go: Archive of Our Own. I had to know if someone else was as emotionally frustrated by Briddey and C.B.’s slow burn and if they had thrown a match on it. At the time‚ mere days after the book’s publication‚ of course the answer was no. But in the two years since‚ there are a grand total of… three Crosstalk fanfics! Bless this little fandom‚ which exemplifies the ideal situation where the source material leaves you wanting more—and then you go and write the next chapter. Tunnel Vision My husband and I decided to plan our honeymoon for about a year after our wedding‚ to put some time between this giant party we had thrown and a nice relaxing trip to look forward to once we were past the first heady months of being newlyweds. It so happened that in addition to looking forward to our Spain trip‚ I also had a new Megan Abbott thriller to count down the days to: Give Me Your Hand‚ a typically twisty and disturbed novel about two female scientists with a bloody history jockeying for the “one girl spot” in a study on premenstrual dysphoric disorder‚ or PMS that makes you kill. Despite being announced at least six months ahead of publication‚ there were no excerpts to be had‚ and no way for this sci-fi/fantasy reviewer to get her hands on an ARC. So‚ I preordered… for the last day of our honeymoon. While we were checking out of our Barcelona Airbnb and beginning the long slog to the airport for twelve hours of travel‚ I had my nose buried in my ereader and the opening pages of Give Me Your Hand. It took all my self-control to wait until we had lifted off to actually read—then I squeezed my husband’s hand‚ said‚ “What a dream honeymoon‚” and ignored him for the rest of our flight. I inhaled Give Me Your Hand in four hours‚ curled into the same position in my cramped seat. I probably got up to use the bathroom at some point but I’m sure I took the book with me. I read it so fast that I gasped at the first twist I had somewhat guessed but didn’t think she’d actually do‚ gasped at the secondary twist that recontextualized the entire novel‚ reached the end… then realized I had read so fast that some of the details didn’t stick‚ and had to turn around and start over from the last third. I’m Not Worthy Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire was the hardest to pin down‚ because it’s a mix of multiple book-crush styles. First there was the initial intimidation of the opening lines—trying to ascertain the premise of this alien universe while my eyes kept tripping back and forth over the poetry of “here is the grand sweep of civilization’s paw‚ stretched against the black between the stars…” I was ready to proclaim this book too smart for me‚ or to put it aside and try again another day‚ when I found myself adjusting to the cadence of the omniscient third-person narrator‚ cataloguing the unfamiliar words that were the (world)building blocks of the Teixcalaanli empire—and‚ most shockingly‚ recognizing myself in these humans who had evolved lightyears beyond my world. What started as the expectation of being dazzled by a space opera bearing no resemblance to anything in the present instead became the oddest connection across space and time—to Mahit Dzmare’s loving memorization of Teixcalaanli poetry‚ to Three Seagrass’ balancing act between professional ambition and personal creativity‚ even to Thirty-Six All-Terrain Tundra Vehicle’s gauche self-naming. These supposed aliens were people… and while I was realizing this‚ Martine was weaving a political epic that was thrilling from its quietest moments to its bloodiest. It’s the kind of writing that makes me feel raised up as a reader and like I’m not worthy enough as a writer. I can’t stop bringing this book into conversations‚ the way you might shoehorn in a mention of someone who gets your heart racing‚ even when they have absolutely no connection to the matter at hand. I want every person to have my experience with this book‚ or something entirely different—but above all I want them to read it‚ so we can find each other‚ clasp hands‚ and squeal over our book crush together. If you’ve experienced any/all of these‚ then congratulations‚ you’ve got a book crush! Now—I told you mine‚ you tell me yours.[end-mark] A version of this article was fist published in February 2019. The post Five Ways You Might Be Crushing on a Book appeared first on Reactor.

News Star Trek: Discovery The Final Season of Star Trek: Discovery Will Warp onto Paramount Plus in April Captain Burnham will only get to say “Let’s fly” so many more times By Molly Templeton | Published on February 14‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed It’s been a long‚ strange‚ occasionally baffling journey‚ and now it’s coming to an end: The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery will begin on April 4th with a two-episode premiere. The synopsis is mysterious! And vague! The fifth and final season will find Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt as well … dangerous foes who are desperate to claim the prize for themselves and will stop at nothing to get it. In a recent TVLine interview‚ Sonequa Martin-Green‚ who plays Captain Burnham‚ teased a major twist in this final season‚ saying‚ “There’s a big thing. A biiiig thing in Season 5.” Along with Martin-Green‚ Discovery stars Doug Jones as Saru‚ Anthony Rapp as Paul Stamets‚ Wilson Cruz as Hugh Culber‚ David Ajala as Cleveland Booker‚ and Blu del Barrio as Adira. For the grand finale‚ Mary Wiseman will return as Sylvia Tilly‚ and Callum Keith Rennie joins the cast as Rayner. There are also two recurring stars: Elias Toufexis as L’ak and Eve Harlow as Moll. Star Trek: Discovery has Michelle Paradise and Trek mastermind Alex Kurtzman as showrunners. Its arrival on Paramount Plus in 2017 heralded the beginning of a new Trek era that now includes the now-concluded Star Trek: Picard‚ the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks‚ the beloved Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‚ and more. The USS Discovery sets off on her final mission on April 4th. [end-mark] The post The Final Season of <;i>;Star Trek: Discovery<;/i>; Will Warp onto Paramount Plus in April appeared first on Reactor.