After American voters hit the brakes on his administration by flipping the House to Democratic control, Trump called a White House news conference to insist he had won "almost a complete victory." And then he made plain he understands viscerally what he has lost.
Reads, Listens
Reading list of books, magazines, newspaper articles, other physical documents, or online posts
Playlist of posts listened to, or scrobbled
Playlist of posts listened to, or scrobbled
👓 Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker's old tweets are really something | Mashable
'Dave Matthews is the Jimmy Buffett of our time.'
👓 What we know about Matthew Whitaker, man who replaces Jeff Sessions | ABC News
Matthew Whitaker was appointed has been appointed acting U.S. Attorney General.
👓 Jeff Sessions out as attorney general | CNN
President Donald Trump on Wednesday fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Matthew Whitaker will take over as acting attorney general.
👓 White House suspends press access for CNN’s Jim Acosta | NY Post
The White House suspended press access for Jim Acosta on Wednesday after the CNN reporter had a tense exchange with President Trump during a press conference. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders…
An incendiary article that leaves some details out for salacious effect. Having seen a portion of the press conference this morning, there’s a bit to be desired in this reporting that does a bit of “he said, she said” without giving a completely accurate picture of the story.
🎵 I’m New Here by Gil Scott-Heron (XL, 2010)
I'm New Here is the 13th and final studio album by American vocalist and pianist Gil Scott-Heron. It was released on February 8, 2010, by XL Recordings and was his first release of original music in 16 years, following a period of personal and legal troubles with drug addiction.
The record was produced by XL owner Richard Russell, who was influenced by the 2009 self-titled debut album of English band the xx.[1] I'm New Here is a post-industrial blues album, with spoken word folk songs and trip hop interludes.
I'm New Here received positive reviews from most critics and debuted at number 181 on the US Billboard 200, selling 3,700 copies in its first week. It was promoted with the single "Me and the Devil", an adaptation of blues musician Robert Johnson's "Me and the Devil Blues" (1937). A remix of the album, titled We're New Here, was produced by the xx's Jamie xx and released by XL in 2011.
You can’t spend a chunk of the afternoon reading about Gil Scott-Heron without jumping into his work.
I liked the nod of the Kanye West sampling of Flashing Lights on the song On Coming from a Broken Home as a reverse homage to a generation of hip hop artists and rappers sampling Scott-Heron.
👓 Lush life | Hub | Johns Hopkins University
Jazz poet Gil Scott-Heron's posthumously published memoir, The Last Holiday, is an improvisational snapshot of a fascinating life.
👓 New York Is Killing Me | The New Yorker
Alec Wilkinson (The New Yorker)Gil Scott-Heron is frequently called the “godfather of rap,” which is an epithet he doesn’t really care for. In 1968, when he was nineteen, he wrote a satirical spoken-word piece called “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” It was released on a very small label in 1970 and was probably heard of more than heard, but it had a following. It is the species of classic that sounds as subversive and intelligent now as it did when it was new, even though some of the references—Spiro Agnew, Natalie Wood, Roy Wilkins, Hooterville—have become dated. By the time Scott-Heron was twenty-three, he had published two novels and a book of poems and recorded three albums, each of which prospered modestly, but “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” made him famous.
🎵Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Gil Scott-Heron
👓 Gil Scott-Heron, Revolutionary Poet and Musician, Dead at 62 | Rolling Stone
Scott-Heron was best known for 1970’s ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’
I remembered reading about his passing several years back, but something this morning got some of his poetry, music, and writing stuck in the back of my head. Perhaps it was something about the revolution not being televised. In any case, what a creative soul we’ve lost…
👓 AMC to Raise Stubs A-List Subscription Price in Select States | Hollywood Reporter
The circuit in 2019 will raise pricing for its ticket app, where it has proven most popular.
👓 MoviePass Rival Sinemia Drops Prices to Dirt Cheap on Weekdays | Gizmodo
MoviePass broke the mold on theater subscription services and broke itself in the process, but the whole idea itself is not dead. Sinemia is carrying on with more modest deals, and it’s now offering weekday-only subscription plans that start at $4 per month.
🎧 The Daily: An Unexpected Upset in Florida | New York Times
After a surprise outcome in the primary, the Florida governor’s race is shaping up to be a litmus test for 2020.
🎧 The Daily: An Execution in Nebraska | New York Times
State lawmakers repealed the death penalty in 2015. Why didn’t that last?
When I grow up I want to be Ernie Chambers.
🎧 The Daily: The War Inside the Catholic Church | New York Times
Vatican intrigues usually remain behind the walls. But a new accusation levied against Pope Francis has laid bare ideological rifts.