Everybody's Linking for the Weekend

Yesterday's post got a lot more personal than I anticipated, but occasionally you need to let something out into the universe and hope someone listens.  However, we'll be back to slightly lighter fare today (or at least heavier fare served up by someone else with a link roundup of different stories from around the internet that I found fascinating).  Let's begin!

On Entertainment...

-The Atlantic has one of this week's two major "must read" think pieces, this one about the state of the American actor which I found absolutely mesmerizing (you'll find with my links that I tend to favor longer thought pieces, so if this intimidates you, bookmark it and read them on the bus!) which shines a light on the weird sort of phenomenon with the decline of the American actor.  It's an interesting look at the state of the American actor as a serious thespian, and how so many American parts are now played by European actors (this was particularly noteworthy to me while watching the press tour for Terminator: Genisys and noting that Emilia Clarke, whom I adore, is having her first big-screen moment in a quintessentially American franchise, a role made iconic by American actress Linda Hamilton).  I do think there are American actors to be excited about right now (both Channing Tatum and Jake Gyllenhaal, arguably my two favorites at the moment, are name-checked amongst them), but he has a definite point that the superhero culture has created a sea of Chris's that seem more like performers stuck in uninspired work than a new breed of de Niros and Brandos.

-The other must-read article of the week is from the LA Times, which looks at the troubling 1% problem plaguing the US Box Office.  In it Steven Zeitchek points out that all of the radically large Box Office receipts of the year (the Inside Outs, the Jurassic Worlds, the Cinderellas) are not having a trickle-down effect to mid-range titles, which are seeing only a slight growth.  That people are watching less movies each year is not a new reality, but it is a frightening one for fans of good movies and for those who want diversity on their big-screen.

-Darren Criss, who is about to finish up his Broadway run as Hedwig, apologized for comments he made regarding Caitlyn Jenner this past week while on-stage.  I'm going to be honest here, though, and say this was entirely unnecessary.  If it had been Criss himself who had said the comments, yes, I get it, but he was in character as Hedwig, and quite frankly it was very much in-line with something the character would say in the performance and was actually pretty clever.  As a result, while I don't always attack the PC police, I'm saying this was one too far and they probably should have just let it be.

On Politics...

-My beloved favorite Senator Claire McCaskill was out stumping for Hillary Clinton this past week, pointing out that the media has been pretty darn soft on Bernie Sanders, and I have to say I agree.  I make no qualms about my support for Hillary Clinton (though, admittedly I really like Joe Biden and if he were in a horse race by the time the primaries were in Minnesota I would have a tough decision to make), but even someone who is supporting Sanders has to see that he is not being treated like a "serious candidate."  All of the questions about Clinton's age (Sanders is older than both she and Biden) and his position as a Socialist are things that a lot of more moderate Democrats are going to raise their eyebrows about, and you don't see that across the coverage quite yet.

-One of the untold stories about ISIS's occupation in Syria has been the iconoclasm that has been taking place in the country.  The terrorist group has been attacking different cultural landmarks, including potentially the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Palmyra, which is deeply disturbing on multiple levels, not least of which is this region of the world's position as one of the first civilizations, meaning that some of these shrines, statues, and cities have been around for over 2000 years.  As an art lover myself, this is heartbreaking to watch beautiful sculpture and architecture that has survived millennia destroyed by such a hateful group.

-I find it fascinating, considering the shroud of secrecy that covers the court, how the little feuds of the Supreme Court seem to be spilling out this week, fueling speculation about frustration from Justices Scalia and Alito in particular.  While I tend to agree with former Rep. Anthony Weiner (though I wouldn't do it with such unfortunate language for a former congressman) that the Court is only liberal a minute amount of time while otherwise it has had a conservative slant (let us not forget Hobby Lobby), it is interesting to see the strange legacies set out by the Roberts Court considering that the majority of these justices were appointed by Republican presidents.

-Can someone fix that pesky 22nd Amendment and let Obama run for a third term?  Because I want a president who is going to put the rainbow colors across the White House to stay in office.

Shameless Self-Promotion of the Week...

-Finn Jones, I'm ready when you are.

YouTube Video of the Week...

-This week's YouTube videos were all, I'm going to say it right now, pretty uninspired and WAY too product placement-y and self-promotion-y for my taste.  When Smosh and Mamrie Hart can't even muster particularly compelling videos, you're in trouble.  So instead I'm going with an old clip that I have been playing on loop for some reason, the "And I Am Telling You" scene from Dreamgirls, mostly just to keep hearing the line "Curtis was supposed to love me!" over and over again.  I have no reason why this is in my head this week, but here's Jennifer Hudson winning her Oscar:

Just One More...

-I couldn't be happier with President Obama this past week if I tried (well, climate change is there for next week sir, but I'll give you a break for the weekend), and I would be remiss if I didn't include a link to his amazing and unexpected version of "Amazing Grace," which left me in tears.  I'm so glad I voted for him twice.