Everybody's Linking for the Weekend

It is officially the weekend, but I've had the past week off, so you know, it's been the weekend for a while (I love taking a week off from work when you can-it's weirdly relaxing and sort of puts your life in order just through having days where you don't have to worry about the next stress, but instead sort of taking things at a more leisurely pace).  However, it's a "thank goodness" sort of weekend for some of you I am sure (and will be for me in a week again), so let's link it up!

On Entertainment...

-Ooh, talk about good timing (for me, that is).  Oscar-winning actress Marisa Tomei is going to be joining the cast of Empire in Season 2.  In it she will play a nemesis for Cookie (played by Taraji P. Henson on the show), which should make for some good television.  It also works well with the 2008 OVP we've been discussing for the past week and will continue into over the next few weeks, as this isn't the first time that Henson and Tomei have battled for a big prize-they were also against each other for the Best Supporting Actress trophy in 2008.  Here's to hoping that they find room for Penelope Cruz, Viola Davis, and Amy Adams while they're at it!

-Actor Jeremy Renner addressed the gay rumors in a recent interview for Playboy, which was documented at a link from Entertainment Weekly because you might be at work and probably shouldn't be reading articles at Playboy (there's a link to the full interview in the article if you are so inclined).  Renner is not what I'd consider my favorite celebrity, though he's occasionally a very good actor (like in The Hurt Locker), and it's mostly evidenced by discussions in this article.  While he doesn't have to say that he's gay (he really doesn't, that's his deal), doing the whole "I'm taking a stand by not saying anything" is not really getting the point.  It still shames gay people by making it seem like it IS a big deal, because it feels like something you need to hide.  Either get your publicist not to have the interviewer to ask the question (don't tell me you can't get that into your contract-you're a big enough celebrity to get questions pulled from an interview), or just answer it yes or no.  Also, the joke about Jennifer Lopez at the Golden Globes was pretty juvenile, regardless of who found it funny.

-IndieWire came out with its list of the worst films of 2015 so far, which true to form for every IndieWire list, seems redundant and a little too "easy."  Lists like this, unless they are done by a specific critic are always a bit clickbait and rarely offer up anything interesting (I'm linking more as a reference point so I can get this mini-rant out of my head).  The list goes after easy targets like Katherine Heigl, Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp, Adam Sandler, and Fifty Shades of Grey while not going after any film that remotely was "popular" or trying to attack a film that had some critical consensus but not universally so.  I'm not asking for a takedown of Spy or Inside Out, but Jurassic World is easily the worst film I saw all year and belongs on a list like this (and yes, I saw Fifty Shades of Grey).  In many ways this reflects why the Razzie Awards have become pointless now-they used to target big films, occasionally even nominating performances that got Oscar nominations, but now it's just easy pop culture targets, much like this "worst of" list.

-Nathaniel discusses Claire Trevor, Agnes Moorehead, Barbara bel Geddes, Ellen Corby, and Jean Simmons in my favorite series on the internet, the Supporting Actress Smackdown (this time hitting 1948).

On Politics...

Gov. Paul LePage (R-ME)

-Despite his protestations to the contrary, Gov. Paul LePage is now being investigated by the Maine legislature over allegations that he illegally misused his power as governor to get State House Speaker Mark Evans fired.  This is a really big story if you've missed it, as the evidence seems to be relatively straight-forward, and could well lead to LePage's impeachment.  In perhaps the worst timing I've ever seen in politics, Gov. Chris Chistie (that other governor who has been investigated for months now regarding his potential abuse of power) was endorsed by LePage earlier this week, sucking up what little energy Christie's presidential campaign had going for it and providing pundits with some easy jokes.  Who next for the New Jersey governor?  Aaron Schock?

-In a week when Hillary Clinton set campaign records and Bernie Sanders was scoring massive crowds on the campaign trail, there was an awful lot of talk about Vice President Joe Biden on the campaign trail.  Rumors are starting to pop up that Biden, who recently lost his son Beau to cancer, may make a third attempt on the White House.  He got an unlikely advocate for his personage (though of course not his politics) from Senator and presidential aspirant Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who called Biden the finest man he's known in politics.  As many of you know if you read this blog regularly I'm a huge Biden supporter in general, though I tend to feel Hillary Clinton is the better 2016 candidate.  However, if Biden takes off in a major way in a bid for the White House, I would be in a bit of a pickle over whom to endorse, particularly since Clinton's bumbling on her email account and bizarre refusal to do national interviews have made me seriously question her campaigning skills (you can bet if Biden runs he'll know that this is a gap for her and will be sitting across from everyone from Robin Roberts to Chris Wallace within a month of his announcement).

-I love when politics and entertainment meet, and this is one of my favorite recent examples.  First Lady Michelle Obama gave a speech this past week addressing a group of women about the importance of educating girls around the world.  The woman who introduced her?  None other than Claire Underwood herself!  Yes, actress Robin Wright who plays the dastardly FLOTUS on House of Cards was cheekily chosen to introduce Obama at the event.

Shameless Self-Promotion of the Week...

-Seriously-what is wrong with the heartthrobs on Vine?

YouTube Video of the Week...

-Gracie does an hilariously inappropriate take on how to make phone sex conversations both realistic and wildly unsexy.  Take a look (but have your headphones in if you're in public):

Just One More...

-We end with a bit of news that will inevitably be used on the big screen the next time the character is relaunched (and doesn't it feel like it's about time he gets thrown back on the big screen?).  Apparently a secret tunnel was found near the castle of Vlad the Impaler (the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula).  The legendary prince was kept in the dungeons near the castle by the Ottomans and has developed into one of the most notorious men of the 15th Century.