Norman Lear, who developed and produced some of the most popular sitcoms of all-time including All in the Family, The Jeffersons, and One Day at a Time, died on Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 101 years old.
Lear’s influence on TV can’t be overstated. As the New York Times wrote in his obituary: “The Jeffersons looked at the struggles faced by an upwardly mobile Black family; the very different Black family on Good Times dealt with poverty and discrimination. The protagonist of Maude was an outspoken feminist; the heroine of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman was plagued by all manner of modern-day problems, not least her own neurosis.”
These weren’t the types of stories people were used to seeing on TV in the 1960s and 1970s. Even in recent decades, when he was in his 90s, Lear was still using his immense power in the industry for good: Netflix’s One Day at a Time was hailed for its authentic depiction of a Latinx family.
When Lear turned 100, he spoke to NPR about living in the present instead of fixating on the past. “You know, two little words we don’t pay enough attention to – over and next. When something is over, it is over and we are on to next. And I like to think about the hammock in the middle of those two words. That’s living in the moment,” he said. “That’s the moment I believe I’m living as I complete this sentence, and it couldn’t be more important to me.”
The average show during Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour is three hours and 15 minutes long. That’s 195 minutes of running, singing, dancing, and climbing up and down a cabin every night, sometimes six out of seven nights in a row. To prepare for the physically grueling tour, Swift, the Person Of The Year, told Time that she started training six months before the first show.
“Every day I would run on the treadmill, singing the entire set list out loud,” she said. “Fast for fast songs, and a jog or a fast walk for slow songs.”
A special program was created for her by her gym, Dogpound.
“Then I had three months of dance training, because I wanted to get it in my bones,” she said. “I wanted to be so over-rehearsed that I could be silly with the fans, and not lose my train of thought.”
Swift worked with choreographer Mandy Moore (who helped prepare Eras Tour attender Emma Stone for the dancing scenes in La La Land) since “learning choreography is not my strong suit,” she added.
The “You’re Losing Me” singer also made a major sacrifice for the benefit of the tour: she cut out drinking… mostly (see: Grammys night). “Doing that show with a hangover,” she said. “I don’t want to know that world.”
It sounds like Taylor can give Travis Kelce a few workout tips this offseason.
The Los Angeles Lakers are moving on to the In-Season Tournament semifinals in Las Vegas to face the New Orleans Pelicans after beating the Phoenix Suns 106-103 in a thriller on Tuesday night in the quarterfinals.
The game featured an incredible performance from LeBron James (with KD matching him on the other side) and some late game heroics from Austin Reaves, but the big talking point immediately after the game was a controversial call that helped seal the victory for the Lakers. After a KD layup cut the lead to 105-103, the Suns seemed to have forced a turnover by Reaves on the ensuing inbound, knocking the ball loose, but as the ball rolled across the lane, the Lakers were granted a timeout as LeBron jumped up and down trying to get one called seeing Reaves was in trouble.
That led to plenty of anger from Phoenix’s bench and fans, both of the Suns and just generally around the NBA, as the Lakers appeared to get a gift in the form of a timeout granted when they didn’t have possession. After the game, that sequence was debated by Charles Barkley and Shaq on Inside the NBA, with Shaq unsurprisingly being on the Lakers side believing it was the right call, while Chuck felt his Suns got robbed.
Barkley, never one to miss a timely reference, compared the Lakers being given that timeout to the College Football Playoff committee putting one-loss Alabama in over undefeated Florida State.
Now, it’s fair to wonder if the Suns would’ve gained possession before the ball rolled out of bounds had the whistle not blown (it looked very close to the baseline by the time Grayson Allen ran it down), but it certainly didn’t look like the Lakers had anything close possession when the timeout was granted.
Given it’s the Lakers, it naturally became a larger conspiracy than just being a bad call, and Chuck couldn’t help but stoke that fire by comparing it to the current controversy raging in college football, with Alabama fitting in the Lakers role in that sport of being the team the league and TV networks always love being involved for ratings.
The Los Angeles Lakers punched their ticket to Las Vegas for the semifinals of the inaugural In-Season Tournament, but it did not come without a good bit of controversy. Los Angeles picked up a tense, 106-103 win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night in a tournament quarterfinal, which helped them extend their undefeated record in the event and set up a date with the New Orleans Pelicans in a few days.
The Lakers dominated in the first half, while the Suns were able to use the third quarter to get back into the game and eventually take the lead. Down the stretch, the two teams went back-and-forth before Los Angeles looked like it was going to get just enough breathing room, thanks in part to the brilliance of LeBron James and a three by Austin Reaves with 15 seconds left to give the team a 4-point lead. But after a Kevin Durant make on the ensuing possession, there was some major controversy as the Lakers were awarded a timeout as Reaves got swarmed off the inbound.
It looked pretty clear that Reaves lost possession of the basketball due to the defense by Durant and Devin Booker, and after the ball made it out of his hands, James (who was on the other side of the court) called a timeout that got awarded by the closest referee. The Suns were understandably furious at this, and a few NBA players watching from home certainly thought something weird was going on.
The Lakers will now head to Las Vegas, where they’ll square off against the Pelicans on Thursday in the second half of a doubleheader that also features the Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Red Hot Chili Peppers have pulled out of KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas concert, which is set to take place this weekend in Los Angeles. The band announced the news via social media today (December 5), following an unforeseen injury.
“It is with deep regret that we will not be able to perform this weekend at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas,” read the post. “A band member was injured, preventing us from being able to perform for at least 6 weeks.”
At the time of writing, neither the injured band member nor the nature of the injury were disclosed. However, Red Hot Chili Peppers already have plans to make their absence from Almost Acoustic Christmas up to fans. Fans who previously purchased tickets will be able to attend another show early next year.
“RHCP and @KROQ are excited to make it up to you on March 2nd, 2024 at The Forum.,” the post said. “So, have a great time this weekend and hang on to your ticket.”
Big Thief‘s Adrianne Lenker is gearing up to release her fourth album as a solo vocalist. The album is set to arrive next year, and ahead of its release, Lenker has shared a new single, “Ruined.”
Driven by a melancholy, forlorn piano, Lenker finds herself searching for answers amid a harrowing heartbreak.
“So much coming through, every hour too / Can’t get enough of you / You come around, I’m ruined / You come around, I’m ruined,” she sings on the song’s chorus.
In the song’s accompanying video, Lenker is seen making her way through the woods, on a quest to rebuild and find herself.
“This song has been a quiet beacon for me,” said Lenker in a statement. “It may contain the essence of the gift of romantic love but it’s mostly about something much bigger.”
Beginning next March, Lenker will embark on a tour, hitting venues in North America and Europe. Tickets will be available for purchase through Lenker’s official website beginning Friday, December 8.
You can listen to “Ruined” above and see the list of tour dates below.
03/21/2024 — Knoxville, TN @ Big Ears
04/19/2024 — Galway, IE @ The Black Box*
04/20/2024 — Kilkenny, IE @ St. Canice’s Cathedral*
04/21/2024 — Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street*
04/24/2024 — Glasgow, UK @ Old Fruitmarket+
04/25/2024 — Manchester, UK @ The Hall at Aviva Studios+
04/27/2024 — London, UK @ Barbican Centre=
04/29/2024 — Bristol, UK @ Bristol Beacon+
05/02/2024 — Paris, FR @ Le Trianon+
05/03/2024 — Brussels, BE @ Cirque Royale+
05/05/2024 — Amsterdam, NL @ The Concertgebouw=
05/06/2024 — Berlin, DE @ Admiralspalast=
05/07/2024 — Hamburg, DE @ Kampnagel =
05/10/2024 — Copenhagen, DK @ The Royal Danish Academy of Music =
05/11/2024 — Stockholm, SE @ Berns =
05/12/2024 — Oslo, NO @ Chateau Neuf =
How crazy would a second Donald Trump presidency be? We didn’t find out in 2021, and perhaps we won’t find out in 2025. The next election is about 11 months off, and already alarms are going off. There’s talk — including from Trump himself — about all the crazy things he has planned should American voters let him back in the White House. Will he unleash the National Guard on protesters? Deport scores of immigrants? Jail his many enemies? If any of that worries you, relax: The guy who’s not very good with the truth says he’ll only be a dictator for a day.
Hannity asks Trump for a second time if he has plans to abuse power. Trump admits he plans to do some dictatorial things on “day one” of his second term. pic.twitter.com/51b9I8bIJ7
Per Mediaite, the former president sat down with close pal and professional softball Trump interviewer Sean Hannity for a Fox News town hall in Iowa. At one point, Hannity asked him an actual hard question: Did he plan on going full autocrat? The first time Trump ducked the question. But Hannity asked him again, albeit in the kindest way possible: “Under no circumstances, you are promising America tonight, you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?” The answer probably didn’t make Hannity happy.
“Except for day one,” replied Trump. As Hannity squirmed, Trump joked to the crowd, “Look, he’s going crazy” before repeating, “Except for day one.”
When Hannity what dictator-y things he meant to do on Day One, Trump replied, “I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
“That’s not retribution,” Hannity tried to assure viewers, which cracked Trump up.
“We love this guy,” he said. “He says, ‘You’re not gonna be a dictator, are you?’ I said, ‘No, no, no, other than day one.’ We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator, ok?”
“That sounds to me like you’re going back to the policies when you were president,” Hannity said, again trying to reassure more middle-of-the-road voters.
“That’s exactly,” Trump said, laughing.
The first time Hannity asked Trump about his potential for going full-Mussolini, he pointed to something he said at CPAC earlier this year: “I am your warrior, I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.” Hannity implored him to say he wouldn’t “use the government to go after people.” That set him off.
“You mean like they’re using right now,” Trump replied, alluding to the 91 criminal charges brought against him, none of them by the Biden administration, as he and his cronies have been claiming.
Trump then seemed to humble-brag about how he has three more indictments than Al Capone, who he called “one of the greatest of all time, if you like criminals.” He then looked up wistfully at the heavens while making a curious statement: “I wonder what my father and mother would say looking down.” Does he think they’d be impressed?
Anyway, the correct answer to “Will you be a dictator?” is supposed to be “No.” The frontrunner for the GOP presidential ticket couldn’t even do that.
The Milwaukee Bucks are on their way to Las Vegas. Milwaukee hosted the New York Knicks during an In-Season Tournament quarterfinal tilt on Tuesday night, and thanks to an absolutely dominant performance on the offensive end of the floor, the Bucks cruised to a 146-122 win to set up a matchup with the Indiana Pacers a little later this week.
As is oftentimes the case when the Bucks do something good, Giannis Antetokounmpo had himself a game. The former NBA MVP went for 35 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, and three steals in 34 minutes of work against New York’s frontcourt, and after the game, he learned something that made him pretty happy: He’s got a nice chunk of change going his way because of his team’s success.
It’s unclear if Antetokounmpo was unsure about all of the prize money that teams get in the In-Season Tournament or if he only thought he would get paid for winning the whole thing. As an incentive for the new event, the NBA will give players $50,000 for making the quarters, $100,000 for making the semis, $200,000 for making the final, and $500,000 if they are on the team that wins the whole thing.
Regardless, Giannis now has some money this way, and while we don’t know what he’s going to do with the extra cash, we do know one thing: where he’s putting that money if he hits the roulette table.
Singer Brenda Lee has achieved some remarkable feats. Earlier this week, her American Christmas standard “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, more than 65 years after its original release. At 78 years old, Lee is the oldest artist to ever top the Billboard Hot 100. While Lee is likely most known for “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” the artist has quite an impressive resume.
In her autobiography, she also shares that she won her school’s talent show performing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” when she was five years old, which led to appearances on local radio and television shows.
She came to mass fame at 11 years old, with her debut single, “Jambalaya.” While she started of as a country singer, she was later marketed as a pop artist. She would release “Rockin’ Around The Christmas in 1958, when she was 13 years old. In 1969, she would make a return to country sounds with her single, “Johnny One Time.”
To her credit, Lee has 29 studio albums, her most recent one, Gospel Duets With Treasured Friends, released in 2007.
Still, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” continues to stand the test of time, as she only released its official music video — starring Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood — last month.
You can see the video for “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” above.
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