Everybody's Linking for the Weekend

I am up EARLY today, a sign that I went to bed too soon last night (always a temptation on a Friday), so I better get this out before I inevitably take a mid-morning nap.  Let's get started, shall we?:

In Entertainment...

-CNN has a rundown of some of the entertainers that have Walk of Fame stars despite scandal, in the wake of the furor over Bill Cosby and whether or not his star will be taken down (the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce repeatedly has said no to the request, citing any star as being part of the historic fabric of the Walk).  While there are names you'd expect such as Charlie Sheen, Pee-Wee Herman, and Michael Jackson in the video, I'd never even heard of Spade Cooley (and I'm willing to bet you haven't either), a Western swing singer who was convicted of murdering his wife, but had his star in place prior to the trial.  The real question is how did Fatty Arbuckle (who is not in the video) end up with a Walk of Fame star considering his scandals happened decades before he won the star?

-Playbill has a fun rundown of actresses that Hollywood forgot but Broadway discovered in the process.  The list focuses principally on musical actresses so no one along the lines of Estelle Parsons, but with Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Christine Ebersole, and Harriet Harris on the list it's hard to quibble.  Also, when is Catherine Zeta-Jones finally going to return to Broadway?  I want to hit the boards next April-CZJ, if you're listening, perhaps a return engagement?

-Speaking of actresses that Hollywood can't seem to figure out what to do with and then head to New York, Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o is going to make her New York Stage debut at the Public Theater this fall in a play called Eclipsed, about post-colonial Africa.  Every time I recall Nyong'o I think about how she and Margot Robbie both competed for an Oscar nomination that year (I'm convinced that Robbie was around seventh place in that race, and had Julia Roberts stayed lead like she should have may well have scored her first nomination as a result).  Nyong'o has a part of some sort in the upcoming Star Wars film and will be in The Jungle Book as a voice role, but it's hard not to see Robbie's career (what with a prestige Z for Zachariah coming up this year as well as two franchise plays next year in Tarzan and Suicide Squad) as the one that Hollywood noticed, despite who ended up winning the Oscar.  I'm not knocking the talented Robbie of her success, but it's pretty obvious there's a racial bias happening here.

In Politics...

-Politico has a rundown of some of the usual swing suspects and how things might fall with the upcoming Planned Parenthood vote in the Senate.  From the looks of things Heidi Heitkamp, Bob Casey, Jr., Mark Kirk, and Susan Collins all seem opposed to the bill, likely ensuring that it won't hit the 60 votes to get it to land on the president's desk (he would veto) while Sen. Dean Heller has said he will vote to defund, but Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Joe Donnelly, and Joe Manchin are all still on the fence.  It'll be an interesting vote to go down considering the flack Planned Parenthood has received, but I generally agree with Sen. Collins on this one-investigate whether Planned Parenthood violated any federal law or medical ethics, and if not then move on as this organization provides not only family planning resources, but also cancer screenings and STD-testing that are vital to saving lives for poorer Americans.

-The continued push for more Animal Rights' legislation in the wake of Walter Palmer's killing of Cecil the Lion is interesting.  There seems to be a push to ban tigers as pets and legislation will soon be forthcoming from Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) to extend rights to near-endangered and threatened species such as the lion.  My thoughts on this are pretty clear from the above link, but all I can say is it's about time.  It's also, admittedly, a silver lining in this tragedy, though I will admit that one of my truly great pet peeves about Congress is, with as many people in that body as there is, along with their staffs, it's always disappointing to me that we pass so few laws-I wish we had more legislation like this, truly helpful and meaningful legislation, getting voted upon every day in Congress.

-While I applaud the Boy Scouts of America for including gay scout leaders again (though as a reminder, it's 2015 and this should have happened years ago), it's worth noting that there are still multiple laws that legally discriminate against GLBT people.  Everything from housing discrimination to employment discrimination to bans on giving blood are still legal in many states, so as you take down the rainbow filter off of your Facebook profile, remember that the fight isn't quite over yet.

Shameless Self-Promotion of the Week...

-My constant Box Office worry of the year.  Seriously though-I'm going to cry if Jurassic World, one of the worst films I have seen all year that is essentially a poor man's remake of Jurassic Park, manages to upset Avatar or Titanic two populist but excellent movies, at either the domestic or worldwide Box Office-this weekend should be telling if it's possible.

YouTube Video of the Week...

-The below video illustrated so well my thoughts on Cara Delevingne and her attitude during the Good Morning Sacramento interview that I skipped my rant yesterday which I was planning about it.  This is a brand-new movie, it doesn't have a guaranteed hook, doesn't have any household names (arguably John Green is the most well-known person attached), and while it appears likely to recoup its costs, it isn't going to be The Fault in Our Stars, so the stars need to be out full-force to support it.  Delevingne may be a top model, but making the transition from model to actress is extremely difficult (just ask Tyra Banks, Cindy Crawford, and Claudia Schiffer, all of whom were far more famous than Delevingne when they made it to the movies).  The Rene Russo's of the world who can make that transition seamlessly are rare, and Delevingne needs to check herself before a Fair Game ruins her career (also, I love Whoopi's reaction in this, even if Michelle Collins and Raven Symone's obnoxiousness makes me not want to return to The View outside of short snippets-seriously, Raven, just stop, blaming behaving like a jackass on a "generational difference" makes all Millennials look bad):

Just One More...

-I am seriously so mad at the IOC lately-what is with them continually picking countries that are too dangerous or too unprepared for the Olympics?  First they go with China, whose air pollution problem is egregious, for the 2022 games, and then we learn that Brazil is not only struggling to prepare for the Olympics, but also that the waters there are dangerously polluted.  Rowing, open-water swimming, and yachting are principle sports of the Olympics, and already they're having Olympians try-out in what is essentially raw sewage.  Seriously IOC-you need to look into not just security risks but also environmental risks for the athletes.  If there's a massive boycott by some athletes who don't want to risk bacterial infections or worse, I wouldn't be surprised.