Everybody's Linking for the Weekend

It's that time of the week where we round up all of the stories from the internet that have fascinated me and we haven't discussed yet (or hopefully a few that you weren't even aware of) in "Everybody's Linking for the Weekend!"  Shall we?

On Entertainment...

Michelle Pfeiffer

-In one of the bigger pieces of news this week that I almost missed, Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Pfeiffer will be returning to television after decades away from it, or at least that's what she, Katie Couric, and Diane English (the masterminds behind the show) are hoping.  Nathaniel over at the Film Experience of course had two cents or so on this subject (Pfeiffer being his favorite actress) and I tend to agree with him-why not just go back to making movies?  Pfeiffer is notoriously stingy with her cinematic output, and unless this is a TV movie or miniseries, why would she make a giant return to acting only for it be on the small screen?  She's only done one lead role this decade, which is insanity (plus, it was in that horrible-looking The Family with Robert de Niro).  Go back to your roots and make some big screen magic instead.

-Proving that Maleficent and Cinderella were just the tips of the iceberg, Disney is now planning a live-action film of Mulan.  This comes off of production news that most of the cast of Beauty and the Beast is set (including my beloved Audra McDonald as a side character).  While I think this constantly mining the same well is eventually going to hurt Disney, they've still got quite a few classics to go before that happens ($20 says The Little Mermaid is announced by year's end).  I actually think this could be interesting as Mulan has a lot of battle sequences, but please for the love of God don't have a white-washing incident with this film where they cast a white actor to play a part intended for an Asian.  You think I'm kidding, but it still happens in 2015 (just look at Rooney Mara and Princess Tiger Lily in Pan).

-Manoel de Oliveira, the world's oldest filmmaker and one of the last stars of a Silent Era movie, has passed away at the age of 106.

On Politics...

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN)

-Minnesota politicians (my home state) seem to be continually in the news this week.  Probably the funniest and most pleasant story of the bunch was Sen. Franken on Letterman this past week, who amidst a conversation about the disastrous religious freedom bill in Indiana, said that Letterman should consider a run for the US Senate in the Hoosier State.  While I think certain things in Dave's past would preclude him from winning, I said the same thing about Al and I could not have been more wrong (I have grown extremely fond of him, particularly the way he handles politics in a way similar to Bill Clinton, frequently trying to make it through without cheap political points or soundbytes, a truly odd trait from a man whose forte was in comedy and radio).  His fellow senator Amy Klobuchar is giving back her donations from Bob Menendez, whom we profiled earlier this week, and appears to be Senator 1 in the indictments against Menendez (for the record, Senator 1 is not accused of any criminal wrongdoing).  It'll be interesting to see if any other Democrats return their contributions from Menendez's PAC, though Klobuchar, who announced that she's releasing a memoir just in-time for the Iowa Straw Poll, may have other ideas in mind and want to avoid a scandal entirely.  I could also chronicle the ridiculousness of Michele Bachmann, but thankfully she doesn't hold office in the state anymore so I won't bother with her.

-Roll Call took a look at 2016, which they are already dubbing the Year of the Rematch, which is something that's hard to disagree with considering the number of candidates seeking out another bout.  While it's not usually advisable to go with someone whom the district already rejected (they're a proven loser, as unkind as that is to say), these are some pretty quality candidates all-around and most of them probably would have won in better cycles than 2010 and 2014.  I do always find it funny that each party has the same reaction to these sorts of situations, with the repeat challenger being tagged a "proven vote-getter" and the incumbent tagging them a "rejected loser."  This is particularly funny from the Republicans, who have people like Pat Toomey, Bob Dold, and Frank Guinta potentially running in these races, all of whom were rejected by voters before they held office.  Politics: land of a thousand inane talking points.

-Everyone in the Senate is trying to guess what Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) is up to, and what her intentions are in the wake of Sen. Chuck Schumer's move to be Democratic leader come 2017.  Like I suspect Sen. Murray is, I'm torn on what direction she should go.  Part of me wants her to run for the spot; Sen. Durbin has been in office forever and quite frankly it's time to get some new blood in leadership, particularly in the Senate where senators like Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Manchin seem restless, a critical issue since they're vitally important to getting to 51 seats for the Democrats.  The other part of me wonders if it's a great idea for us to completely roll-over Dick Durbin, who has done a decent job as Whip and with keeping a very coordinated caucus for the past decade or so.  If I had to pick right at this second, I'd say Murray should go for it but I might change my mind tomorrow.

Shameless Self-Promotion of the Week...

I get into the real appeal of Snapchat.

YouTube Video of the Week...

I love that the official Oscars channel on YouTube has put the Streaker video on the channel!  Even if you've seen David Niven and Elizabeth Taylor's reactions a thousand times, it's still worth catching (Linda Blair's reaction to Niven's famous "shortcomings" joke is awesomely robust).

Just One More...

-This could technically qualify under the entertainment bucket, but it felt more like news of the world and art news specifically.  Robert Schoenberg, who is played by Ryan Reynolds in the new film Women in Gold, recounts several different artworks that are still in court over their rightful owners after being stolen during World War II by the Nazis.  One of the paintings you will remember famously from the opening credits of Desperate Housewives.