Like, yeah, The Bee Gees have been unfairly maligned for a LONG time and there's bound to be overcorrection because they're lovely, but holy shit, there's just no comparison to what The Beatles did. I can't even be charitable on this one.
The Beatles could be credited with transforming the direction of popular music not just once but TWICE and in less than six years. That's mind-boggling.
Like, just consider this alone. In less 4.5 years, they released:
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Sgt. Pepper's
The White Album
Yellow Submarine
Abbey Road
Let It Be
If they had stopped at Rubber Soul or Revolver, they still would have been among the most influential artists of that era.
When people say The Beatles are overrated, what I really hear is: "too many people like them, so I don't like them because I'm edgy".
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Did y'all know that many Members of Congress live out of their offices when they're here in D.C., away from their districts? It's true! Mostly Republicans, they say that the cost-of-living is too expensive for a cheap apartment here in D.C. (thread)
This is totally real. It's actually an ongoing debate within Congress on whether representatives should be permitted to live out of their offices. Some say it violates ethics rules, some say it's unsafe during COVID. But they do live there!
Now, I don't know the exact total--I don't think anyone does--but some reports have said up to 100 House members live out of their offices. That's about 23% of the House. Let's say it's 60 Republicans -- that would be almost a third of the current GOP House Caucus.
If confirmed, Pete Buttigieg will be one of the youngest presidential cabinet members in history (he turns 39 next month) and likely the youngest in 60 years -- since Bobby Kennedy was confirmed as Attorney General in 1961.
Interestingly--thank you to @emilyaheil, who already did great reporting on this seven years ago--most of the youngest cabinet members in recent history were Secretaries of Transportation, too:
42 -- Anthony Foxx (2013)
39 -- Jim Burnley (1987)
39 -- Neil Goldschmidt (1979)
The two exceptions were:
41 -- Bill Barr (1991, Attorney General)
39 -- Andrew Cuomo (1997, Secretary of HUD)
The website was glitching for @Chasten when he was making this great design, so I set it up on my end. All his idea and the proceeds go to the @NOVACommCollege Educational Fund, where Dr. Jill Biden teaches. Buy here for just $20: bonfire.com/thats-34dr-bid…
Already sold 75 shirts and raised $500 for community college students in less than 45 minutes.
150 shirts sold and $1100 raised -- they're flying!
My personal theory--and I only speak for myself here--is that the sheer uncertainty of the time in which we live has made people more sensitive and defensive of things they've always taken for granted or assumed to be true. They look to things that offer permanency for comfort.
This does not wholly explain transphobia, of course, and I certainly don't believe it's a predominating factor. Nor does it make transphobic behavior excusable at all. But the surge of trans rights has sadly coincided with an era in which people crave stability more than ever.
If all people have generally ever known are very rudimentary and incomplete definitions of sex and gender and those definitions are presented to us as irrefutable and they're intertwined with personal identity and culture, there is bound to be anger and confusion.
I'm only six episodes into "Ted Lasso", and I find myself legitimately sad at the realization that there are a finite number of episodes of "Ted Lasso". I feel like I should be rationing these over the next few months. I can't bring myself to binge and reach the end.
Is it possible to create a show that's hilarious, subversive, snarky, supremely yet modestly clever, unapologetically earnest and joyful, and actually good for the soul all at the same time? Yes, that show is "Ted Lasso".
Like... why did I get a lump in my throat when Dani Rojas ran out of the tunnel and made his goal? It wasn't supposed to be poignant. Just a lovely man unapologetically thrilled to be playing the game, and oh my god, why is this making me tear up?