Hi there, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Monday. Kids here in Central Florida are going back to school today. Do you know what profession would last the longest in the zombie apocalypse? Teachers. Because they already know how to survive with little or no resources.
Tomi Lahren was at it again, giving bad takes at the absolute worst times. Following the two mass shootings recently in Dayton and El Paso, the sum of which left 34 people dead and many more injured, Lahren decided to tweet about why she doesn't believe Trump or the NRA are to blame despite the EL Paso shooter's racist manifesto inspired by the president. Instead of addressing the lack of gun reform and racial hatred, Lahren blamed the mass shootings on a youth mental health crisis caused by "over-medication" and "absentee parents."
She went on to ironically lament all of the finger blaming that goes on after tragedies, and claimed we need to be problem solvers.
While Lahren is right about the need to solve the issue of gun violence, many took issue with the contradiction of calling for unity and problem solving while denying the NRA and Trump's culpability in recent violence. A lot of people pointed out the fact that mental health issues exist in countless countries that don't have mass shootings regularly, but the NRA and Trump only exist in America. Given the fact that Lahren has been a mouthpiece for racism and defense of the NRA for years, it was only a matter of time before someone used her own words against her. While Tommy has never been an Internet presence known for addressing gun violence for what it really is, this take was a supremely bad one.
I've got three words for you: emoji spite house. In a brilliantly petty display of vengeance, one woman had her Manhattan Beach, CA property repainted pink with two emojis. Neighbors are alleging the paint job is in response to them reporting the property as a short-term rental. Short-term rentals are illegal in Manhattan Beach. Check it out...
According to The Los Angeles Times, Kathryn Kidd had to pay $4,000 in fines after neighbors told the city about her use of the house as a short-term rental (like Airbnb). Not long after, the house became hot pink and emoji-adorned. The emojis sport long eyelashes, which neighbor/snitch Susan Wieland claims are meant to mock her. She was wearing eyelash extensions the one time she met Kidd. For her part, Kidd says, 'I’m trying not to offend anybody. I did it for the purpose of being happy, being positive, and I think it’s cute and quirky and kind of funny, and certainly was a time for the emoji." The site's encouraged rubbernecking and photo opps, which detractors claim is a "traffic nuisance issue." Personally, I adore this spite house for the Internet age. It's a hilariously creative way of telling people to mind their own business.
Today in white people behaving badly: a white woman and her white husband were given a tour of a former slave plantation in South Carolina and they did not like it. Why? Because they felt "lectured to and bashed about the slavery." Holy white entitlement Batman! The whole point of touring a plantation in the south is to learn about slavery, not to enjoy the scenery. And yet... The woman left a 2-star review of the plantation tour in which she said she and her husband were "extremely disappointed" because the tour guide was "so radical about slave treatment" and they "didn't come to hear a lecture on how the white people treated slaves." The review was screenshotted and shared on Twitter by author Saira Rao, where it went viral. "This is how decent white people who tell the truth about slavery on plantations are reviewed by white people," wrote Rao. Here's the review...
A white woman demanding that a tour of a former slave plantation erase its history of slavery to protect her fragile feelings is textbook racism and white privilege run amock. It is also the perfect example of why it's so incredibly necessary for white people to be educated about our country's racist history (and present), like this plantation tour attempted to do. Citing her husband's German ancestry as justification for their "innocence" only further highlights the fact that this woman has her head all the way up her ass. People are responding on Twitter by pointing out all of the problems with this reviewer's horrendously bad and ignorant take. Hopefully this woman is on Twitter and saw these responses because she has a LOT of learning to do. The general public is extremely disappointed in her review. Zero stars.
Recently, two deadly mass shootings within 24-hours, one in El Paso, Texas, and one in Dayton, Ohio reignited the polarizing and seemingly never-ending debate about gun control. One of the arguments pro-gun people use to defend their right to carry around guns is that "it takes a good guy with a gun to stop a bad guy with a gun." But how is the general public supposed to know the difference between a "bad guy" and a "good guy"? And how often do we read stories of mass shooters actually being stopped by a "good guy" with a gun? Journalist Charlie Sykes shared a 2013 photo of a man with an assault rifle strapped to his back waiting in line at Starbucks on Twitter and asked people if this would make them feel safer or less safe.
Why is this guy carrying an assault rifle openly in Starbucks? Great question. Is he worried the barista might spell his name wrong unless he openly threatens them with a deadly weapon? Maybe. Is he compensating for something? Probably. Is he a "good guy" with a gun protecting the good people of Starbucks against a potential mass shooting? Hard to say. Either way, it's a terrifying spectacle and very, very American. Most people are responding to say they would leave and many would also alert authorities. As many others are pointing out, openly carrying an assault rifle is not a sign of a "good" or "safe" or "sane" person... basically the last person you would want to be carrying one. While many people say they would fear for their life. As actor Yvette Nicole Brown and others have pointed out, the fact that this man is white plays a huge part in his privilege to openly carry an assault rifle in a public place. As one man noted, black people in this country get gunned down by cops for even appearing to be in possession of a gun. Tamir Rice was killed for playing with a toy gun at age 12. Even gun lovers are pointing out that this guy seems to be a threat because of the reckless way he's handling his weapon. Of course, there are a few people arguing that the guy has the "right" to walk into a Starbucks with an assault rifle strapped to his back. One person claims he's "not doing anything illegal, or threatening." Another person says they would feel safer because "no one is likely to be violent while he is present." And another guy says he would be ready to stop this supposed bad guy with a gun with his own (much smaller) gun. So now we have a full-on shoot-out at Starbucks?! I'll take a venti iced mocha for here please, since it's probably going to be my last meal on this earth.
"Disguised" a wig, silicon mask, and Minnie Mouse t-shirt, notorious gang leader, drag trafficker, and Scooby Doo villain Clauvino "Shorty" da Silva tried to escape from prison as his teenage daughter. According to the BBC, the 42-year-old da Silva is serving a sentence of nearly 74 years for drug trafficking. His pathetic attempt at a drag show got him transferred to a maximum security prison, where he will likely have even less access to accessories and wigs. Prison authorities released this truly humiliating video of da Silva getting unmasked, and it's insulting to the guy's daughter that he ever thought he looked like her in this getup. Look at this...
And even this...
Sorry, Shorty, but the only people who can pull off such a disguise are the Wayans Brothers. The White Chicks disguise was so effective that one of them went on to have a rap career under the name "Iggy Azaela."
Instead of wasting time doing this blog thing I should be listening to this album...
Ummm... maybe not. Today's guest, Amanda Brugel is on the popular TV show "The Handmaid's Tale." Well, someone else is also on that show you might not have known...
Hahahahaha. If I had a TARDIS I would go to meet Ann-Margaret back in the day, but knowing my luck she'd be racing on a motorcycle and I would not be able to catch up with her.
Recently Trump was in Ohio and those people sure had some clever anti-Trump signs.
When he was in England not long ago my fellow Brits also had some clever anti-Trump signs...
I love that! Trump said he was "down here" with the 9/11 first reposnders. Did you know he also was the real "Moses"?
That's so stupid. That's as stupid as...
Haha. So, yesterday I got sunburnt but it's not as bad as this...
You know who is a really good guitar player? Bruce Springsteen. But not only does he play a guitar he also plays the slug, and is really good at that as well. Check it out...
See? So, does your kid need a book to read for school? How about this classic?
Since when does Nike make bird houses and chicken toys though? Do you like Hot Pockets? There's a new one out called Hot Possums. Check it out...
Available at your nearest grocery store. If you're thinking of cheating on your loved one you might wanna think twice after seeing this...
Oh, man. What an idiot.
That screaming kid in the background is all of us. “WHY GOD WHY?! I just want to fly a kite!!!” Okay, so, today, like I said, is the first day back at school here in Central Florida. There's a local teacher who already is having a good day. He's on his break right now and wanted to come on to the Phile and tell how his day is going on the first day back. So, here is...
Mr: Hello, sir, welcome to the Phile. How is your day?
Mr. Cylance: It's been a weird first day of school, Jason.
Me: Why is that?
Mr. Cylance: I walked out of class to go upstairs to talk with another teacher and in the stairwell there was a female student...
Me: Yeah... and?
Mr. Cylance: Well, she was blowing a male student. The crazy thing was she didn't stop even after I said something.
Me: That's crazy. Welcome back to school for the male student. Hahaha.
Mr. Cylance: Many things have happened at my school, Jason, but this is the only one I have personally witnessed.
Me: Next time just look way.
Mr. Cylance: I will. I have to get back to school, chat soon.
Me: Mr. Cylance, the happiest teacher around, kids. I never got blown on my first day of school or any day of school matter of fact.
Misty
How golfers create divots.
If you spot the Mindphuck let me know, kids. Wanna laugh?
An Indian builder has fallen through a roof at a Lionel Richie concert. A spokesman said, "The last thing I saw was Dan Singh on the ceiling."
The 103rd book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...
The one and only Phil Collins will be on the Phile next Tuesday. I'm so excited. I'm a big fan.
Today's pheatured guest is a Canadian actress who currently can be seen on Hulu's hot TV show "The Handmaid's Tale." Please welcome to the Phile... Amanda Brugel.
Me: Hello, Amanda, welcome to the Phile. How are you?
Amanda: Hi, Jason. I'm wonderful.
Me: That's good. So, I have to be honest, I've never seen "The Handmaid's Tale." You're not a handmaid, right? What do you play in the show?
Amanda: I play Rita... a member of the subservient class of housekeepers called Marthas.
Me: What are the Marthas?
Amanda: A housekeeper shuffling in the background. You might forget about us. We are sort of seen but not heard more often than not.
Me: So, what made you want to do this show, Amanda? No pun intended.
Amanda: Well, I had been in love with the book and with Margaret Atwood since I was 15. I wrote my thesis to get into university and the screen writing program in the university on The Handmaid's Tale on my character... Rita and I was awarded a full scholarship to the program. And so during the audition I found a way to subtlety to bring that up and let them know I've been obsessed with the book for 20 years.
Me: The book came out years ago, right? Did you think it'll be a TV show?
Amanda: No, it just a small strange film in the 1980s, so it was 20 years apart.
Me: Do you think that's crazy that you are now in the show?
Amanda: Yeah, it's crazy and the essay itself was on Rita and on the Marthas.
Me: So, how is the show similar to the book?
Amanda: In the book if anybody has read it the Marthas aren't 40-years-old. Especially Rita, she wasn't a 40-year-old black woman. And so it was wonderful to be awarded that role.
Me: So, what was your audition like apart from you telling them you were obsessed with the book?
Amanda: Before I went into the audition I said, "Alright, ladies, you can all pack up and go home." Any of the stragglers that came in afterwards I told them to go home. I never in my career done that and I was dead serious. Walk to their car, that's enough. Go home.
Me: Ha! Were you serious?
Amanda: Yeah, I was serious. I almost handcuffed someone. Get out.
Me: What was it about Rita's story that pulled you in?
Amanda: I'm fascinated by anyone who has that kind of quiet strength and she can say so much just by looking. In the book initially I was just so curious why she had so much distain towards the handmaid's and none of her story was ever revealed. I liked filling in the blanks when I read the book so it was a luxury to fill in the blanks to play her and being her to life as a person. And a lot of the writer's say I am the loudest quiet person so I like to speak volumes, not with dialogue but with a look or physicality. It's a luxury as an actor to use other tools besides my voice.
Me: I'd love to be on a show and not have to memorize lines. How do you deal with this?
Amanda: Well, initially I was scared to death. I didn't know what to do. Then I started creating little things, little quirks that would help bring her to life if she couldn't speak. She had a limp, I'm not sure a lot of people have noticed this. I put rocks outside of my trailer in one of my shoes to create a limp. In try to in every scene find a moment where I can be funny or do something funny in improv. Sometimes it makes it in, though sometimes it doesn't but creating life around me without relying on dialogue is helpful. I also write out scenes as if I was speaking. When it comes to my coverage and it comes to my moment to shine I still have that moment going on in my head even though it's not coming and not being spoken.
Me: So, in the season finale apparently the Marthas prove they are not to be messed with, am I right?
Amanda: No, they're underestimated and irrelevant and often ignored for a long time so I think it was satisfying to the audience to see them be such powerful secretive creatures. I also think a lot of housewives write me and seem to relate to Rita as they're under appreciated and ignored. A lot of housewives really responded and said, "Oh, my god, this is amazing, I wish there was an underground housewife network." So people were rooting for the character and they felt validated because a lot of people see themselves in the Marthas.
Me: In the beginning the show was criticized for sidestepping tough questions about racism I think I read. How do you feel the show has handled issues about race?
Amanda: Umm. Bruce Miller our show runner I think addressed this in the best way he can. It's such a HUGE discussion and because the show mostly focuses on feminism and women's rights and women's rights their bodies he sort of just says you can't just make race the punchline. There's not enough room to address it, it's not intentional ignoring of it, it's not mildly skimming the surface in discussing race because we wouldn't be into it and delve into it enough to his satisfaction without taking away from the story. So I understand that and I stand by it, I don't really want it to be discussed if it's just discussed on the surface. And so we don't know, we don't know where the show is going to go. There could be discussions in the future.
Me: What about Rita that you think breaks the mold that servants are particular women color?
Amanda: What about her that breaks the mold being a servant?
Me: Yeah.
Amanda: Because of the back story that I created for her I think she's extremely educated and she wasn't always a servant. I think her intellect and her strength she has there's quite a savviness about her. I do think there's a lot of dignity she holds, even though she's doing the role of a servant she still has an immense dignity and pride the way she carries herself. I don't think a a lot of stereotypical servants are shown that way.
Me: Recently you spoke about that you only got certain type of roles when you started out. How did you get out of that?
Amanda: Just I consciously went in and if I wasn't supposed to, if I was asked to play "booty girl number 3" I would go in and have a Cockney accent or go in dressed completely opposite of the character. I really wanted people to look at me more as a character actor and less of a stereotype. An exaggerated version of myself. And so it was just really failing a lot of auditions before casting directors realized "we can't call her in for the stereotypical roles anymore, let's throw her into some 'wild card' roles." For people starting out I'm not suggesting they bomb some auditions on purpose, but if they want to not be brought in for those roles either say no or completely go against the grain until people start paying attention and realizing you're not going to sell out.
Me: Are you picky with what roles you want to play?
Amanda: Yeah, I really go out of my way to not perpetuate any stereotypes as black women. Take "Moonlight" for example, the role for the lead character, there's enough meat and another flesh there she's not just a bd mom whose addicted to drugs. But if I'm called in to be a guest star in one or two scenes to play a black crackhead I'm not interested. There's plenty of other people that want to play that but I'm not gonna give my face to play that role. I'll play the lawyer, I'll play the doctor.
Me: You are also on the Canadian comedy show "Kim's Convenience." How different is it being on that show than on "The Handmaid's Tale"?
Amanda: Very different. The biggest difference is, I think I think people would think there are these luxurious catered dinners and, I don't know, "Prince is there," on set of American shows, but the largest difference is the amount of time that we have. Really the largest difference is the amount of time that we have. On Canadian television shows the budget is shorter, the hours aren't as long, there's not really the freedom to go into overtime, we shoot a lot more pages in the day, we get one or two takes and we have to move on. Whereas "The Handmaid's Tale" is almost treated as a film and we shoot much fewer pages in the same amount of time so we have the luxury to rehearse and improv and play and a lot of different takes are shot. It's like doing a play versus doing a 60 minute skit.
Me: Do you think American's overlook Canadians talent?
Amanda: To a degree, yes. I think it's because we're not as loud, it's not that we don't have the substance. We are working on a lot of their shows. They realize the talent is here and that's why they keep returning. Us ourselves as Canadians, we're a little reluctant to be as loud as they are it's just the loudest voice is usually the one that's heard.
Me: Amanda, thanks so much for being on the Phile. I hope this was fun and I hope you'll come back soon.
Amanda: Thanks, Jason, this was fun. Watch "The Handmaid's Tale," you'd like it.
Me: Perhaps. Haha.
That about does it fore this entry. Thanks to Amanda for a great interview. Maybe I will watch the show. Okay, the Phile will be back tomorrow with actor Corin Nemec. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.
I don't want you, cook my bread, I don't want you, make my bed, I don't want your money too, I just want to make love to you. - Willie Dixon
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