Morning, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Thursday. How are you? Organizations conducting research into COVID-19 may be targeted by computer hackers linked to the Chinese government, according to the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. Neither agency cited any specific examples yesterday, but they warned that institutions and companies involved in work on vaccines, treatments and testing for the novel coronavirus should take additional security measures to protect data and be aware of the potential threat. “China’s efforts to target these sectors pose a significant threat to our nation’s response to COVID-19,” said a statement from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “This announcement is intended to raise awareness for research institutions and the American public and provide resources and guidance for those who may be targeted.” It comes amid heightened tensions between the two countries over the source of the outbreak and Trump administration complaints that China did not adequately alert the world to the danger posed by the new coronavirus. The warning also echoes long-standing U.S. complaints that China has engaged in the wholesale theft of technology and trade secrets to build its economy. Institutions that have received media attention for their efforts related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, should assume that they would be targeted and should take precautions, the Department of Justice said. “The potential theft of this information jeopardizes the delivery of secure, effective, and efficient treatment options,” it said. The FBI and the cybersecurity agency said they were issuing the alert to raise public awareness of the potential threat and said additional technical details would be released in the coming days. China has defended its response to the virus, and Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian denied the government was involved in any attempt to steal virus-related data on Monday, after some media reported on the warning in advance. “We are leading the world in COVID-19 treatment and vaccine research,” Zhao told reporters. “It is immoral to target China with rumors and slanders in the absence of any evidence.”
There is a small selection of people in the world who are truly angels sent from above, and Amy Jandrisevits is most definitely one of them. I simply could not hold back the tears when I came across this amazing Wisconsin woman’s story. Amy Jandrisevits, previously a pediatric oncology social worker, is a passionate “avid doll collector” as she refers to herself on her Facebook page. And her work is so important in the kind of society we live in today. Amy used her passion for doll collecting to create and start a project called A Doll like Me. Having experience in play therapy, a process that helps children with disabilities work through self-identity issues by relating themselves to dolls, Amy realized a key issue. Although toy companies have recently been doing a better job of diversifying the look of dolls, the patients Amy saw would still have trouble relating because the dolls didn’t mirror their unique qualities. “It’s that important. If we truly want to talk about the overall health of a child, we need to promote a healthy and positive self-identity,” Amy explained. Although knowing the benefits of play therapy, Amy witnessed how difficult it was for the kids to truly relate to the dolls. They were feeling left out because their physical qualities didn’t mirror the dolls that were standard looking coming off store shelves. So she started making custom dolls on her dining room table back home. The doll maker’s first custom dolls were for the kids she played within the pediatric oncology unit. These custom dolls mirror what the children look like exactly, down to their visible birthmarks, physical displays of their medical conditions, etc. I'll show you...
These one-of-a-kind unique dolls are complete lookalike dolls for every single child she makes one for. Soon enough, she started making unique dolls for parents or caregivers who would buy from her, and in cases where money was an issue, she would send the child the lookalike doll for free. She has now even started working with children’s hospitals to find specific kids who could use one of her popular dolls. If you can, donate to her GoFundMe page to support: gofundme.com/f/adolllikeme. Amy wrote on the page to support the project, saying, “I am a doll-maker who feels that every kid, regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, medical issue, or body type, should look into the sweet face of a doll and see their own.” This story is gold from all perspectives. Not only is Amy doing an amazing thing for society, but she is also setting a great example on how to use your own unique passions and skills to help others in need and make an impact on peoples’ lives. Who knew that doll-making could have such an impact?
A man in northern California was killed by a shark over the weekend while surfing. It was California’s first fatal shark attack in eight years. The victim was identified by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office as 26-year-old Ben Kelly. The shark attack happened just off the shore of Sand Dollar beach, south of the Manresa State Beach parking lot, in Santa Cruz, California. Several residents who live on the shore witnessed the incident say that three surfers were out in the ocean when a dark fin approached one and attacked. The attack itself was over quickly. Kelly was pulled to shore and first responders attempted CPR on him for almost fifteen minutes, taking turns in an attempt to keep Kelly alive, but ultimately their efforts failed. Kelly was pronounced dead at the scene. Residents told local news that they had never seen anything like this at their beach before. Santa Cruz County beaches are currently closed from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily as a part of the area’s cornavirus response. The three surfers were the only people at the beach or in the water at the time of the attack. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office posted about the shark attack on Facebook and asked residents to avoid the water near the site of the attack for several days. State Parks is responding to a shark attack at Sand Dollar Beach in Santa Cruz County. Please avoid area and water. All press inquiries and questions should be directed to State Parks. The victim was identified by our Office as 26-year-old Ben Kelly. Our hearts are with his family and friends during this tragic time. At present authorities are uncertain about what type of shark might have attacked Kelly.
An unidentified Pennsylvania woman is going viral for being caught on video throwing hands over a delayed Mother’s Day meal from Red Lobster that left her feeling less than appreciated on her special day. The brawl over biscuits was filmed outside a Red Lobster in East York, Pennsylvania on Mother’s Day by another patron waiting on their food. Apparently waits at the restaurant were longer than usual because of the reduced number of staff that were allowed to work due to COVID-19 restrictions. The video begins with the woman being forced out of the restaurant by masked employees, presumably after a confrontation inside. The woman is seen shrieking at the employees who are pushing her out that she wants her money back while attempting to force her way back in, to no avail. The employees then inform the woman that all they need is her name to give her a refund. She can be heard telling them her name is Kathy Hill. It is at this point that, for whatever reason, the upset customer takes a swing at the female employee standing between her and her Red Lobster refund. The scuffle then spills out onto the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. The female employee the irate customer hit can be seen grabbing a hold of the customer’s hair. Finally, after some tense back and forth and more shoving, the parties are separated. It then appears the Red Lobster employees closed and locked the doors. Police were called, however, the upset customer, who claimed that she was assaulted, had already left but the time they arrived. Officers did later track her down, however. It is unclear if any charges were filed. This is painfully trashy. Like, mid-race sex in a stranger’s RV parked in a NASCAR infield, ketchup on your steak, Honey Booboo trashy. But hey, maybe this lady was having a bad day? Mother’s Day is stressful as hell. Maybe her kids and husband gave her an underwhelming celebration that morning and all she had to look forward to those delicious, buttery, cheddar bay biscuits. Once that biscuit was in her mouth, nothing else would matter. Not the present her husband clearly bought at a Walgreens. Not her kids getting into a fistfight at 10:00 a.m. Not her own mother making her feel like a terrible mother with some snide comment. That biscuit was going to fix everything. Until it wasn’t there. And gone with the momentary bliss that biscuit would have provided was the woman’s ability to restrain herself any longer. So she snapped. Either way, still trash.
Nassau County cops have stated an off-duty NYPD cop is believed to have shot and killed his “best friend” on Long Island. According to authorities officers responded after 8 p.m. to a shooting that occurred at a home on Langdon Road in Farmingdale. When officers arrived they found a 25-year-old man, identified by his stepmother as Chris, who suffered fatal gunshot wounds. Authorities stated the New York City Police officer was drinking out with a childhood friend when they began arguing among themselves in the street. One of the men was choking another when the officer shot the chocker in the head. According to a high-ranking police source, the officer was identified as Errick Allen, a new officer who graduated from the academy a few months ago and was assigned to the 109th Precinct in Flushing, Queens. As of yesterday, the cop had not been charged with any crime. Chris’s stepmother, Ellen, stated her son and Errick grew up together and they both attended Farmingdale High School. She stated, “I don’t understand anything. I don’t know. I don’t know why he would have a gun, I don’t know why this cop would have a gun outside of city jurisdiction. It makes no sense to me.” She believed the shooting was not self-defense, rather an “execution” over a fight over a woman. Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder confirmed the shooting, saying the altercation was between the two men, and the officer indeed used his weapon on the victim. After shooting the man, Allen returned home and told his father that he had used his weapon. That’s when he and his father returned to the scene a few hours later. Cops and first responders had already been called to the scene by motorists who were passing by and found the victim dead in the street.
Movie theaters have been getting very creative with their marquee signs...
Haha. Do you know your neighbors? I hope you never got a note like this or even sent one...
Hahaha. Man, I wanna say those protestors signs are clever but they are just sooooo annoying.
If I had a TARDIS I would go see a cool rock and roll band in the 60s only to have a 16-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger "interrupt" it.
The band does not look happy. That's Arnold's first body building competition by the way. Okay, so today would have been parents' wedding anniversary. They got married in 168 above a bicycle shop in Wimbledon. I thought I would share a pic from that day...
And my parents at the reception...
Top Phive Things Said By Parents In Quarantine
5. I don't know what's going to kill me first, the Murder Hornets or my kid asking for snacks every ten minutes.
4. My 10-year-old just said I eat too many takeaways and drink too much beer so I guess you could say his transformation into my dad is running ahead of schedule.
3. The Hobbit is my favorite book about what happened to my feet in quarantine.
2. My daughter woke up, came halfway down the stairs wrapped in her comforter, said she would be avoiding everyone and asked me to hand her some cheese. My daughter is a whole mood.
And the number one thing said by a parent in quarantine...
1. "Clean your room or I will cut your hair again" is such an unexpected and fun parenting tool these days.
If you spot the Mndphuck let me know. Hey, it's Thursday so you know what that means...
That one is not too bad, right? Okay, you know I live in Florida, right? Well, there's stuff that happens here that happens no place else...
A Florida woman got what has to be a pretty terrible omen. The sort of thing that would cause some ancient Egyptians, Native Americans, or Greeks to absolutely shun the person it happened to out of fear that they might end up too close to whatever calamity ends up befalling the newly cursed person. I mean this gator could enforce some social distancing with the way this alligator hobbles towards people. A 3-legged alligator plodded slowly and directly towards Lori Greenberg as she played on a Florida golf course near her home in Bonita Springs, Florida. According to ABC7, as the alligator hobbles across the golf course, it proceeded to follow the woman home, sitting outside her house. For hours. Staring inside. Both her home and her soul... probably. If that’s not a metaphor for impending death I don’t know what is. I would set up some sort of home confinement. Yeah, lady, maybe don’t get on any planes for a while. Absolutely do NOT go swimming. Make sure you cut all your food up into especially small pieces. Change all your personal information. Get the hell out of Florida, actually... but not via plane!. Go hide and lockdown in a Holiday Inn in Iowa until this all blows over. Maybe drive up to New York or even Rhode Island. And if the alligator shows up outside of that I suggest seeking advice from priests of both the Catholic and Voodoo persuasions. Even if this gator isn’t some sign from the devil it’s still unnerving. It’s a three-legged gator that will stop at nothing to eat this lady. The fact that it has three legs makes it especially terrifying. This thing has been through some stuff. It’s definitely not going to be intimidated by this woman or anyone Lori Greenberg lives with shouting, “Get out of here” or shaking a baseball bat at it from the porch. The only option is to kill it, have it butchered, and consume its flesh. Those are the rules in Florida. In the meantime, this woman should head on down to her local gun store and ask the proprietor, “Hi, I might need to kill an alligator that’s stalking me and also may or may not be the very embodiment of death. What do you recommend I buy to kill death with?” And after she buys that AR-15 she should use it as soon as possible.
The only time "incorrectly" isn't spelt incorrectly is when it's spelled incorrectly.
"The Simpsons," of course, knew that a so-far-incurable disease would mix with murderous bees.
Okay, let's see what is going on in Port Jeff right now, shall we?
There's a few people out walking.
The 124th book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...
Ellie will be on the Phile tomorrow. Okay, wanna laugh?
A woman was terribly overweight, so her doctor put her on a diet. "I want you to eat regularly for two days, then skip a day, and repeat this procedure for two weeks. The next time I see you, you'll have lost at least five pounds." When the woman returned, she shocked the doctor by losing nearly twenty pounds. "Why, that's amazing!" the doctor said, "Did you follow my instructions?" The woman nodded. "I'll tell you though, I thought I was going to drop dead that third day." "From hunger, you mean?" "No, from skipping."
Today's guest is s an American actress. She won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite. Her latest movie Stuber is available on HBO Now and Blu-ray... please welcome to the Phile... Mira Sorvino.
Me: Hello, Mira, welcome to the Phile. How are you?
Mira: Hello, Jason. I'm doing good.
Me: Mira, where are you from? I wanna say New York, am I right?
Mira: We grew up in New Jersey, I was born in New York and loved there until I was three and then moved to New Jersey. Past the age of 8 my parents had decided she would stay at home with us in New Jersey during the school year whole my dad worked.
Me: So, I read somewhere that Warren Beatty is the one that got you into acting, is that right?
Mira: Yes, I was spending the summer visiting my dad while he was working in California. He was on a television series and I was out visiting him and it was between my sophomore and junior year of Harvard and I got very close getting big roles in movies and on the same day they both fell through. So I was my daily 30 laps in the pool and I was saying to myself, "I'm gonna get the next one I'm gonna get the next one." All of a sudden I had the idea I was going to take the next semester off and continue to pursue acting. Dad pulled out all the stops and has these people call me to try to tell me to stay in school and don't drop out. I wasn't going to take time out, I was just going to take some time off. Warren Beatty wasn't necessary helpful for my dads cause because said, "Well, maybe transfer to Columbia so you can be closer to auditions." LOL.
Me: How did that work for you? What did you do?
Mira: On one of those "I'm going to get the next one swimming fests" half way through I was like, "Oh, if I'm going to take six months off that's really not going to be enough. It'll take two years to really get a career off the ground and if I take two years off all my friends will graduate and I'll have much lessons a reason to go back to school and maybe I'll never finish and I'll never finish college so I went back to school and stopped auditioning for professional things. I only participated in school performances. I did a lot of theater there and singing, I was in an a cappella group called the Veritones which is still going strong to this day and I was one of the founding members.
Me: Wow. What kinda stuff were you singing?
Mira: Like pop rock, a cappella. My special was "Only You" by Yazz. I don't know if you remember Yazz, or Yazoo as they are known in some countries.
Me: Yeah, of course. Alison Moyet's original band. Yazz is great. I have one of their albums here somewhere. So, you went back to school and...?
Mira: I did a thesis, I did photography, row crew, I had the quintessential collegiate experience. I lived in China for eight months, I took third year Chinese at Beijing University, then I graduated. I graduated a semester late because I had taken a semester off to stay longer in China but I have never regretted not starting my career earlier. Like it was always there and it was there for me when I came back.
Me: How long did it take?
Mira: it took a while. It's interesting, when I started acting as a teenager there's less competition. Once I was a 23-year-old in New York City, boy there's a lot of other actresses type who are out there for the same roles. So it was a little bit harder I think doing it as a 20-something-year-old. But it ultimately worked out.
Me: So, Stuber, what was it about this movie that made you wanna do it?
Mira: It's hilarious. It's really funny. I think when people actually see it now on Blu-ray or DVD they'll see the chemistry between Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista they're like hilarious with each other. So different from each other but like a perfect paring of opposites, a perfect odd couple. Kumail plays this very modern, mild mannered intellectual Uber driver who is investing in his unacquainted girlfriend love of his life, all female spin gym club and dreams of owning a micro brewery someday. And Dave Bautista is this kind of Neanderthal but sweet cop who is trying to avenge the death of his partner who he feels is his responsibility. He gets Lasik surgery and can't see and gets this tip about the guy that killed his partner he goes on a rampage to find him and he commandeers an Uber, a Nissan Leaf, an electric car driven by Kumail Nanjiani. Who just wants to get back to his girl becaise he sees the possibility maybe he's got an in, maybe tonight is the night he could tell her he loves her and maybe she'll love him back. It's really funny because you see two men from such opposite ends of the spectrum kind of teach each other the best way to be a man. They kind of meet in the middle and it's hilarious and it's very modern.
Me: I didn't see it in the theaters to be honest because I thought it looked unoriginal. Did anybody ever say that?
Mira: It is that kind of that Lethal Weapon buddy cop formula, opposites in the car but it's different because what they talk about is different.
Me: Yeah, he commandeers an Uber not a taxi. That's different.
Mira: LOL. And he's a very slow driver, he's very cautious and he's very worried about getting things on his seats. Blood and broken glass is not what he wants.
Me: Do you ever take an Uber? I like taking an Uber once in a while.
Mira: I spent a lot of time in the backseat of an Uber starring at my phone. The phone thing has taken over a lot of our lives. We're all going to be on our death beds going what happened to our lives? We're all looking at our phones and it went by so quickly.
Me: I wish I spent more time on my phone. I want to play Disney Emoji Blitz some more. And Im using my phone to write my novel. Mira, you haven't been in a big studio for quite a long time. How did it feel being on set?
Mira: Very happy. I had wonderful people to work with. Michael Dowse really knew exactly what he wanted to do with this film and his instincts were dead on. It's really well done I think. And it's perfect riding the line between action and comedy. Everybody I was working with was wonderful. I mean Dave Barista is like a grizzly bear then when I got to know him I realized he was all teddy. He's just so sweet, he's the sweetest man. As tough and large and intimating as he looks he's much more sweeter. And Kumail I think is one of the best, if not the best, comic out there right now. How comedy, has delivery, his intelligence is second to none. He's really amazing so I felt really happy and lucky to be there with all these people Everybody was so funny and warm and it was just a great experience all around working with such wonderful people.
Me: Okay, so, I have to mention this and you can reply anyway you want to. When you became one of the first people to publicly allege that Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed you in 1995 he later blacklisted you from Hollywood. Weinstein denies the allegations of sexual harassment as well as the allegations that he attempted to damage your career. How did it affect your career after that?
Mira: I have said since hearing from Peter Jackson, both in public and then directly, also to Terry Zwigoff, director of Bad Santa, they both said very clearly that I have been blacklisted by Harvey, those were just two people talking and I know it had a dampening and stifling affect on my career in movies. Television I still maintained. It wasn't so strange to be on a set because I've done all these wonderful projects on television and all these wonderful indies all these years. But definitely the studio movie avenue was blocked to me, there was definitely a list out there that I was on. I know from other famous that are far more famous than me actually, someone you wouldn't expect and I wouldn't say their name, a very, very famous actor said two weeks after Harvey was exposed all of a sudden his phone was ringing off the hook because he couldn't be caught dead for a few years. He said the black list is no more. He was so much more famous than me the affect was more powerful to understand the reach of that man. I'm gratified that there's no longer this invisible barrier to stop me from achieving my potential. I love acting, I love that I do and I'm happy to be doing it now without being stuck behind an invisible barrier.
Me: When you first came forward with the sexual allegations in 2017 did you get support from the entertainment industry?
Mira: I got a lot of support. My representatives were very supportive, I think they were worried about that the affects might be but they were supportive nonetheless. They encouraged me to he courageous and do what I thought I had to do.
Me: So, what was the publics reactions like?
Mira: From the public there was just an enormous outpouring of support. I could not have imagined how kind people would be. There was just so much love and comfort from strangers. It was a very weird time because it was very triggering because as I went forward that year there were other traumas that had been buried down deep in my psyche that I had to deal with. It was not the only thing that had happened to me and I've been since more forward with those events. It was like oh, boy, I really needed therapy and I never went. I think I had that at least. So it was kind of I found it hard to be an object of sympathy/what I thought as pity. But I do think it was sympathy or empathy but I'm a strong person, I'm a proud person and it was really hard to be that vulnerable in public. It was really hard for everybody to feel sorry for me. Even though it was kindness, even though it was love coming from them I felt I was in this little spiral of "wow." Especially after the revelation of the Peter Jackson stuff and Lord of the Rings and Bad Santa, and all that. It was wow.
Me: What was the hardest part about all this?
Mira: I kind of made peace with the level of my career. It was okay, I had a very big start to my career, maybe it wasn't meant to be that I was always going to be in the highest echelons of this business but I did work and I have the most amazing family. I have four incredible children that are my entire life and my husband are what makes me happy, not my career. I don't derive my happiness from my career although I love what I do and I do get a lot of happiness from all the activism that I do both with violence against women and human trafficking. I've been a Goodwill Ambassador at the United Nations since 2009 through the present. That gives me an enormous satisfaction. My worth is from other things other than my box office. But it was hurtful that all these things I kind of made peace with its like okay, it wasn't meant to be, that's okay, I love my life, I'm happy and strong. Then to be like oh, there was actually a robbery here. It was a robbery.
Me: How so?
Mira: It was a robbery of my potential and my youthful years in cinema. My chance to make more incredible movies that might have hit more audience members... Indie's are always there and I love them but there are a very few that are stand out hits so the span of who I'm touching with work is making an impact that is much, much smaller. That was taken from me, as well as the economic security that would have come from continuing to do that level of film. And that was kind of a hard thing to bear that that had happened. But you know what? At this point I'm moving on from all of that. A part of me feels like if this had not had happened the MeToo movement would not have happened.
Me: You created the MeToo movement, right?
Mira: No, the MeToo movement was already a thing with Tarana Burke and we all owe her a giant debt of gratitude and respect and admiration. But it got magnified with the Harvey stuff, the James Toback stuff, all this stuff that came out that fall with all this powerful men and all these different areas. Not just entertainment and media. So my hardship meant I became an advocate, meant I joined forces with millions of other people around the world and now there's actually change happening. If it means one less girl is going to be raped somewhere, or that one less career is going to be thwarted because somebody doesn't want to comply with their bosses abuses of their power dynamics, trying to enforce a sexual relationship to keep ones job or to get ahead in ones career than it was worth it. It was worth to suffer in order to be part of a change that is much bigger than me. That's how I feel about it. I feel positive and I feel strong. I don't want to talk about it anymore, I don't want to talk about suffering. I want to talk about life right now is really good and I'm fortunate to be in this terrific funny movie that uplifts people.
Me: I get it. Okay, so, are you a fan of comedy?
Mira: I always said comedy is my favorite genre to perform in.
Me: That's cool. Why is that?
Mira: Because we're all in this collective that has the end goal of making people laugh. Everyone there is there to make something that is going to make them have fun and lift them up. The mood is totally higher on a comedic set. It's not this drama where we are exploring this very dark topic and I'm crying on camera and people are very still and very reverent. I'm trying to get stuff done so people guffaw behind the camera, hoping things that are so funny that I'm going to have a little chuckle happen while I'm acting.
Me: Are you funny in the movie, Mira?
Mira: It's funny, in this story I'm not really the comedic one at all, I'm the straight man. I'm there for them to kind of bounce off but the overall movie makes people laugh. I love the ideas of the two guys coming together and bridging divides. They are so different and when you see them together they actually have a dialogue and and something that comes out of it that is larger than the two of them separately.
Me: So, what's the deal with the Roxy and Michele reunion? Is there gonna be one?
Mira: Oh, gosh, I sure hope so. So many people ask about it every time I do any press. It's not up to me but I can tell you that me and Lisa and Robin Schiff the creator are down for it. Honestly it's all about the rights and it's all about Disney saying they want to do it. I think there's been such a support for it Disney maybe will say, "Yes, let's do it." But I want to be respectful but it certainly seems a no-brainer given the enduring love fo this project The enduring love for these two characters and the fact people dress up as them by the hordes for Halloween or for Pride. So many people love them for different reasons they stroke a chord.
Me: So, your dad, Paul Sorvino, being an actor himself, did he ever give you advice on acting?
Mira: My dad has been an actor all my life, he was mostly a character actor so he had some films where he was the lead but generally he was the supporting actor because of his type. But he had this really rich long running career that had its ups and downs. He would always say that acting was a business of "come backs." It's really true, but he always did to for the love of it, for the art of it. That was his inspiration. I didn't go into acting wanting to be a movie star, I wanted to be a great actress.
Me: So, does this feel like your come back?
Mira: I don't know. I think that's for other people to decide. I've always been here, it's not like I went away. I was just doing more low profile project films and I was doing some good television.
Me: Mira, thanks so much for being on the Phile. Please come back again. Stay well.
Mira: Thank you.
That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Mira for a great interview. The Phile will be back tomorrow with Ellie Kemper. Spread the word, not the turd... or the virus. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye. Mask it or casket.
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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