Pheaturing Greg Evigan

 

Hey, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Monday. How are you? Happy International Women's Day! What a week. In the wake of Dr. Seuss Enterprises pulling six titles from further publication, the world has come to reckon with some racially-charged aspects in the beloved children’s author’s work. Now the controversial Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has gotten involved, unsurprisingly, to further politicize the moment on social media. On Twitter, the politician shared a Seuss-style nursery rhyme condemning President Joe Biden... in quippy lines that are pointedly offensive. It’s no surprise that Marjorie Taylor Greene has chosen to align herself with the, now, somewhat-maligned Dr. Seuss. The Republican rep has openly supported baseless, far-right conspiracy theories including Pizzagate, QAnon, so-called “Jewish space lasers,” and false flag school shootings. After a video of Greene verbally harassing a Parkland shooting survivor surfaced last month, the House of Representatives voted to remove the freshman congresswoman from all committee roles. Greene has explicitly referred to herself as a so-called “victim of cancel culture.” Repurposing the Cat in the Hat imagery, alongside the buoyant speech patterns of Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, implicates Democrats (incorrectly) in the decision to rethink the circulation of certain Dr. Seuss books. As if they are martyrs for the same cause. Of course, Geisel was an outspoken political advocate too… for anti-fascism. Or, as Greene and her GOP colleagues like to call it, “antifa.” For years, Geisel penned political cartoons for leftist PM magazine that attacked the isolationist policies of Charles Lindbergh and encouraged the United States to enter World War II. “America First,” a term near and dear to Greene’s idol, former President Donald Trump, was the exact stance that Geisel sought to undermine and satirize through his art. And that’s not all: Geisel was then hired by FDR to create anti-fascist war propaganda, eventually becoming Captain Geisel in the Motion Picture Unit of the U.S. Army. Thursday, Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted an image of a doctored nursery rhyme...

The lyric references both Joe Biden’s elderly state and Hunter Biden’s former cocaine addiction. Besides the provocative stanza is Dr. Seuss’ most famous character, the titular Cat in the Hat. The picture is accompanied, simply, by a hashtag: #impeachbiden. On March 3d, Marjorie Taylor Greene posted another tweet in which she purportedly takes up the cause of defending Dr. Seuss. But considering Geisel’s historic contributions to the liberal cause, Marjorie Taylor Greene’s twisted messaging is objectively a greater insult to his legacy than, say, deemphasizing Read Across America Day or ceasing the publication of If I Ran the Zoo. In this earlier tweet by Marjorie Taylor Greene, the presence of The Cat in the Hat alone drives home the intent of the verse. I must point out that the cadence here is way off. The Dr. Seuss post is just the latest Marjorie Taylor Greene long string of masterminded drama. Last week, she mocked fellow lawmaker Rep. Marie Newman’s Transgender Pride Flag by hanging a flag of her own which read,  “There are two genders: male & female. Trust the science.” So far, Greene has managed to captivate the news cycle through co-opting logos that are distinctly separate from her own beliefs, i.e. Dr. Seuss, the Transgender Pride Flag. I don’t doubt that this week will bring a new, similar story. Despite Greene’s removal from all House committees, she uses this form of personalized propaganda to make her voice heard on Capitol Hill. The success of this pattern emphasizes the purely symbolic nature of her continued place in Congress. Though I must say, there’s one thing that the master propagandist Dr. Seuss and Marjorie Taylor Greene do have in common: they’re well aware of their audience. Theodor Geisel’s audience changed throughout his lifetime, from politically engaged New Yorkers to beleaguered Army troops to, finally, children getting the hang of phonics. And as Marjorie Taylor Greene remains in the spotlight, her handle on her own audience will be telling for the future of both parties.

First General Baptist Church is in the General Baptist denomination and Church Leaders released a statement saying that Clark’s sermon was not consistent with the values or positions of the organization. General Baptist Ministries posted on their Facebook noting, “General Baptists believe that every woman was created in the image of God, and they should be valued for that reason. Furthermore, we believe that all individuals regardless of any other factors are so loved by God that Christ died for them.” Clark included one Bible verse in the sermon, and which she told the husband in the congregation to display on the headboard of their beds. He quoted the verse, “the wife has no longer all the rights over her body, but shares them with her husband. So whenever she’s not in the mood, dig out your Bible. “ He then went on to briefly mention the second part of the verse which says, “in the same way, the husband does not have the authority of his own body but yields it to his wife." According to the church, he is now seeking professional counseling. Here are a few more quotes from the sermon. “Why is it so many times that women after they get married let themselves go? Why is that? Why do they do that? Men have a need for their women to look like women. Sweatpants don’t cut it all the time. Wearing flip flops and pajamas to Walmart... that ain’t going to work. Ain’t nothing attractive about that. It’ ain’t. And men want their wives to look good at home and in public, can I get an Amen! Ladies, it’s the way God made us. It’s the way we are. Men are going to look. He made us look. You want them to be looking at you. Don’t let yourself go. Let me tell you something. I have a friend. He has put a ‘divorce weight’ on his wife. That’s how important this is. Listen ladies, we are not lust monsters. We’re not that lust monster that chases you around the bed every night. We can’t help ourselves. God made us this way. He made us this way. Listen can I just tell you this? This may never pass your mind when you’re saying ‘I do,’ but I’m going to tell you it does his. It’s the main reason he married you.” 

Nikole Mitchell is not your average person and she has not lived the average life of a 36-year-old mother. This bisexual pastor-turned-stripper has risen to fame and become popular on social media, and she talked to the New York Post about it. Mitchell came from a strict Baptist family, where she says she was expected to be reserved and conservative and that the duties of a woman included staying in the kitchen and taking care of the kids. However, Mitchell decided to take a different career path. “From a young age, I had fantasized about being a stripper,” she said, “But I was indoctrinated to believe my desires and my body were innately sinful and bad.” Wanting to rebel, she decided to become a pastor, going against the beliefs she grew up with that women were not meant to lead in the church and wanting to make a name for herself. She continued to explain, “I was taught that women aren’t allowed to lead and that women belong in the kitchen and with the children. So even though it went against everything I was told, I decided to become [a pastor] because of my love for performing.” So in 2011, Mitchell and her now ex-husband moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where they joined Woodland Hills Church, an evangelist megachurch who had a more progressive view about gender equality in faith. She explained what it was like being part of her new church and how it inspired her to become a pastor by saying, “One of my pastors said, ‘Nikole, did you realize that you’re a theologian?' And they said, ‘We’d like you to be one of our pastors.’ To be on stage in front of thousands of people... that’s what I had been dreaming of for years.” By 2016, Mitchell was a weekly pastor, a wife, and a mother of three kids 10-years-old and younger. But something inside her stirred when she attended an LGBT-oriented theatre performance, making her go inwards and reconsider who she was. She told the New York Post, “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t think I’m straight’ and it rocked my world.” She further explained that she now identifies as bisexual and pansexual, saying, “I knew if I revealed my queerness I would lose it all because the church is not welcoming to queer people.” Nevertheless, because she felt like she was living “a very duplicitous life,” she struggled to hide any longer. After giving her first widely-attended weekend sermon on July 4th in 2017, she completely left the church for good. And a few months later, she came out publicly in a confessional YouTube video and thought about what she was going to do next. So she decided to give in to the desires she had always had. Mitchell described what inspired her to become an erotic dancer and an erotic model saying, “I started following my life coach’s wife [on Instagram] who was doing lingerie modeling,” said Mitchell. “I was kind of triggered by it... but I was also magnetically drawn to it.” Wanting to dive in, she signed up for a class called “Sexpress You,” where she explained that, “It was all about expressing your sexy self and that was the linchpin that I needed.” And shortly after, she found a photographer to do her first nude photoshoot. She reminisced about the shoot saying, “I cried because I had never felt more holy and sacred in my life. I never felt more sexy and liberated than I did then.” As her new career started to take off, she launched an Onlyfans account, where she posts her explicit photos and videos for money. She told the New York Post how her Onlyfans career really took off saying, “I started off really timid like just topless photos, but now I’m at the point where I take personal requests and make videos very tailored to people’s specific desires.” She now also works as a life coach and teaches courses such as “How to Unfuck Yourself” helping others learn how to be their true selves. By August 2019, she had divorced her husband and moved to Los Angeles, California. And how has the business been recently? “I’m to the point where back in March I was actually going to be paid several thousand dollars to have sex with someone, and I was A-OK with that, but then COVID hit and that got canceled.” Regardless, Mitchell claims she’s happier than ever, saying, “Every person has the right to express themselves in whatever way feels good to them and this is how it feels good to me,” and further explaining, “My sexuality is incredibly healing and sacred. And when I give this gift to people, it blesses them.” Man, here's a pic of this woman...

Not bad. Okay, moving on... 

In Sacramento, California, an investigation has been launched after a group of customers were caught on video harassing a street vendor. The upsetting video shows the group of people yelling at the street vendor, taking and stealing her products, and then kicking her food cart over. She explains how she was just trying to do her job. According to CBS 13, Edith Baralles was going about her usual workday, running a food cart in a neighborhood near Franklin and 12th Street. A group of people were attempting to buy snacks from her cart when an argument arose over what they were purchasing. Baralles explained that they started to harass her because they were short an item that they claimed they ordered. However, she said that they didn’t actually pay for that item. Instead of trying to understand how this could’ve happened or discussed with Baralles about what to do next, the group caused an uproar. In the video, they start yelling at the food vendor, and one person is seen helping themselves to some juice. While the others are still jeering, another person kicks down the whole cart, evidently causing damages. Through an interpreter, Baralles explained, “They started taking everything from my basket, my cart,” and added, “Even though they were being filmed they didn’t care and they still kept harassing me.” Baralles also isn’t the only food vendor who has been attacked in the area. Last month, a taco truck owner was shot in Modesto and last December, a street corn vendor in Linda was also shot. Other loyal customers have been shocked by these recent incidents, including customer Loretta Campos said, “Everybody needs to make a living and I think it’s wrong for people just to come in and destroy people with what they are trying to build up in their life for their families.” The police department has responded, saying they are still investigating and that theft charges could be filed. I hope police officers do find the people responsible for this and hold them fully responsible for the damages and costs they also caused. Especially now that things are reopening because of the COVID-19 vaccine rollouts, selling snacks can really help these people get the most out of making their livings. I don’t think I or anyone else will ever truly understand how people can be so incredibly cruel. Even if the service you’re receiving isn’t at its best, everyone can use a little compassion and empathy. But what does make this worse is that this doesn’t seem to be the case here. These people were mad because they didn’t receive an item that they didn’t pay for, meaning they were upset that they were not getting free stuff from a woman working hard to make a living.

It's been days since "WandaVision"'s ninth and final episode and Marvel fans are still buzzing about everything that transpired. To me, it was a pretty satisfying conclusion that has me excited for the upcoming Doctor Strange project. Surprisingly enough, the grand finale received mixed reactions from viewers and a lot of people were actually disappointed that the fan theories and rumors didn't materialize. Now, following Episode 9, Rotten Tomatoes released the official rating for the finale, and as shocking as it may seem, it received underwhelming reviews and an 82% rating, making it the worst-rated episode in the entire series. What's even more surprising is the fact that Episodes 1 & 2 which initially caused a lot of viewers to question the direction of the show have generated a perfect 100% rating. Since the show started, Marvel fans and theorists have been trying to uncover the show's "secrets" that have been hiding in plain sight. To be fair, a lot of theories that circulated online made absolute sense when you connect the dots but fans shouldn't act as Marvel Studios promised us anything. In fact, even director Matt Shakman himself recently said that he knows some fans will be disappointed with the ending, and quite frankly, if there's anyone to blame, it's the viewers who held on to the baseless theories knowing that there's no guarantee any of it will happen. Still, I totally enjoyed the finale and besides that controversial Ralph twist, the entire episode, and series for that matter, gets an A+ rating from me. 

Instead of doing this blog thing I should be listening to this album...

Hahahaha. I bet it's funny actually. I like it when people reenact pictures from their childhood, like this one...

Man, everyone is talking about the D. Seuss books, but what about this book?

Hahaha. By the way, this is a bumblebee butt...

No politics, no virus... just a bumble butt. When it comes to the ways people choose to parent their kids, most of us would agree it’s best not to insert ourselves into matters. But what happens when you witness parenting that could be actively harmful? Where does the fine line between privacy and responsibility lie? That’s the dilemma a Phile reader found himself facing with some of his family members. So he emailed the Phile to present a hypothetical scenario. 

"Would I be wrong if I called CPS on my aunt and uncle for letting their children play in a dump? G’day, I have recently moved away to study at university. My relationship with my family is great, I love my parents, siblings, and cousins. This whole problem is relating to my aunt and uncle. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love them too. However, I don’t necessarily agree with how they parent their kids. They lead a very alternative lifestyle, they’re all vegan, no sugar, unvaccinated, and the children (one who’s 11 and two twins at 5) go to school 3 days a week at a Waldorf school. Obviously, I can’t tell someone how to parent their kid, especially not my family. However, a couple of days ago I saw something on my aunt’s Instagram page that made me feel sick. It was a photo of the eldest kid, standing in the middle of a dump, wearing a suit made out of cardboard pieces and string he’d found there. The two twins were in the background, along with a handful of other parents and kids who must’ve been friends with my aunt and uncle. I have no idea how she has thought that taking her unvaccinated children to a dump and letting them play around in the rubbish was an okay idea. So for the past few days I’ve been tossing up whether or not I should call CPS (or the Australian equivalent) on them. It would cause a huge fight between me and my family, as my parents are especially close with them, and they do love their children. And ultimately, even though I disagree with how they parent their kids, it’s their kids, and I can’t tell them what to do. But it just doesn’t sit right with me. According to my mum they’re planning on doing it again, and it makes me feel like they’re endangering their kids by letting them play in a rubbish tip. I’m torn between this." Tetanus. Tetanus is why you don’t play in dumps while unvaccinated. Because tetanus is excruciating and often fatal. I believe everyone has the choice to vaccinate or not vaccinate themselves or their children. However, tetanus is a VERY real thing. Letting their children play in a dump without a tetanus shot is very dangerous. There are so many risks clambering around a dump that adults shouldn’t be doing it let alone kids. Also it’s probably illegal to be playing there. All I can think about is all the broken glass, used needles, and other nasty things that would be there. I feel sick imagining young unvaccinated children in such a dangerous place! Look, the whole point of CPS is to keep children safe from parents who endanger their kids and would never accept it. If talking to them about it doesn’t get you anywhere. Do what’s best for them, but also know if you are found out in any way. They and possibly many others of your family could resent you. The trade off in my opinion is worth keeping the kids safe. So do what you’re heart tells you is right. An anonymous tip can be made. They are exposing their children to serious diseases and risks. It’s all fun and games until their kids get lock jaw. Hopefully everyone involved can figure out how to do what’s best for the kids in this family. If you have a problem you want my advice on then email me at thepeverettphile@gmail.com. Now from the home office in Port Jefferson, here is...

Top Phive Reactions To The Harry And Meghan's Oprah Interview

5. Me this morning: I have zero interest in anything monarchy related but I’ll probably watch the interview. Me 20 minutes in: I will fucking fight the Queen. 

4. Imagine bringing your wife and kid to America because it's less racist. 

3. How could Hugh Grant let this happen?

2. Tomorrow morning some poor 16-year-old is going to go viral on TikTok where they're like, "Today I learned that the woman who interviewed Meghan Markle last night used to have her own TV show."

And the number one reaction to the Harry and Meghan Oprah interview was...

1. I have missed Oprah's seamless transitions between curious observer, fun high school guidance counselor, and world's greatest detective. 

If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Okay, let's take a live look at Port Jefferson, shall we?

Looks like a beautiful day there today. 

The 147th book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...

Natalie Portman will be the guest on the Phile in a few weeks. 

Today's guest is an American film, stage, and television actor. He was cast as the lead in the series "B.J. and the Bear," in which he starred between 1979 and 1981. He continued to appear as a guest star on numerous television series throughout the 1980s before being cast as the lead Joey Harris in the comedy series "My Two Dads." Please welcome to the Phile... Greg Evigan.

Me: Hey, Greg, welcome to the Phile. How are you doing? 

Greg: I'm pretty, good, man. How are you? 

Me: I'm good. You sang the theme song for both "B.J. and the Bear" and "My Two Dads." When you first broke into the business were you more focused on the acting as opposed to the singing or vice versa? 

Greg: That's always been a struggle. Take my son for instance, he got into it and never had an interest to get into acting, he's purely into the music. And if you Google him you'll see what incredible success he had. With me I started out doing plays. I started doing a couple of plays in high school. I had four different bands in high school. We used to play all round in Sayreville, New Jersey. Music was always number one for me. Singing was something I could always start to look at then I auditioned for Jesus Christ Superstar and that was the first thing I ever did. I went to New York to audition for that and I got the show, after 15 auditions. It was the summer of auditions and I got the show. So singing was the thing that really started me off and then once I finished with that show I got into Grease and I realized I had to get some acting chops. 

Me: So, did you take acting classes? 

Greg: Yeah, I started to take a few classes in New York and then I moved to California which I realized what I was doing it was better to have more experiences with as many things as I could. I was a master of none. 

Me: Do you play any instruments? 

Greg: A little bit of guitar but piano is something I always stayed with. That's something though I never mastered, let's put it that way. 

Me: So, when you got the TV shows did you ask to do the theme songs or did they tell you you were going to? 

Greg: Well, I came to them with the idea but we were dealing with Tristar at the time, and Michael Jacobs who was the producer of "My Two Dads." He was a writer to, in fact he knew me from the Don Kershner days, he was a writer with Don Kershner. So he remembered me from those days and brought me into the office for the job and it all worked out great. But giving up the song that wasn't something I wanted to do easily. Lenny Macaluso and I I think it was in 20 minutes we wrote that song. It was one of those things, it just came out. We did a little demo and I took it in and played it for Michael. I remember sitting in the car with Michael and he says, "Okay, play it again." It was on a cassette tape and I rewound it and played it again. Seriously I must have played it 15 times and he goes, "You got it. I can't top it." That was it. So I got the song. 

Me: Okay, so I know you more from "B.J. and the Bear," Greg. What was it like working with the chimp? 

Greg: It was great working with the chimp. He was fantastic. One of the best actors I have ever worked with. 

Me: So, how did you get that role? 

Greg: I was on my way out of town. I literally had everything packed, I was living up in Burbank, I spent my last dime, I was done. All I had was in my car and my agent said, "Greg, just go in for this one audition." I said, "What is it?" "It's this guy, he's a truck driver and drives around with a chimpanzee." I said, "What are you talking about?" So I went in with that attitude of I don't really care, I'm leaving like in about four hours after this audition. I had that attitude and that attitude it kinda what they were looking for.  

Me: What was the audition like? 

Greg: It was a crazy audition. Most auditions I went in were like somebody standing there with a camera or something. But this was like a screen test. There was a truck there on the soundstage and that that time a 35 mm camera I jumped in the truck and I had a stuffed chimpanzee next to me. I do the audition and get out of there truck and I'm like okay, thank you, take care. Then Glen Larson runs up to me and says, "You might be a little young, I don't know if you'll be old enough to be trained to drive a chopper." I thought that's it, I'm never gonna hear anything from this guy. By the time I get back my answering machine was full of messages from my agent saying "you got this!" So that was it, man. 

Me: Did you have to learn to drive a truck? 

Greg: Yeah, they threw me into a truck drover training school and I had my license in like two days or something. 

Me: So, when you started to do the show what was that like? 

Greg: We shot the pilot and waited almost a year. That was shot in '78 and we went on air in '79. That was a long time ago. 

Me: Is it true that you turned down the role of Michael Knight in "Knight Rider"? 

Greg: That was true. 

Me: What made you do that? 

Greg: My daughter was just born and we were laying and swinging on a hammock and my wife runs out and says, "Glen Larson is on the phone." I talked to Glen and he says, "Greg, I've got this show. You'll be perfect. I'd love for you to do it." I said, "What kinda thing is it?" He says, "It's this guy in a car and he talks to the car." I said, "Are you kidding, man? I've been talking to a chimp for three years? You want me to talk to a car now?" It didn't feel like there right thing to do. 

Me: Yeah, but you could have saved us from David Hasselhoff, Greg. Hahaha. 

Greg: I'm glad David got it, we've been friends for a long time from way back then. He was coming off the soap operas and he got "Knight Rider." Everyone's got their path. 

Me: Did you ever regret turning that show down? 

Greg: No, I don't think I would have got "My Two Dads" if I took "Knight Rider." I was more interested of stretching out as an actor. 

Me: Why is that? 

Greg: Because doing is comedy is something I never got the chance to do. So it would have definitely conflicted. 

Me: Good point. Okay, so I barely remember "My Two Dads," but I know I saw a few episodes. What was the premise of that show? 

Greg: It was different for that time, it was about two dads not knowing if they were the father. 

Me: Was their any feedback about that during that time? 

Greg: Yeah, it wasn't heavy duty or anything like that. I think it was something that was a new thought in peoples minds. I remember kids saying to me, "She's so lucky because she has two dads." Maybe because they didn't have one. I think society was really starting to take a change at that point. Things have changed a lot since then obviously, we can see it all around us. I think it was clever on the part of the producers to really hone into that concept at the time. It was a great concept and it's been done so many ways since then. 

Me: Okay, so, I have to mention "TekWar" which you did with Phile Alum William Shatner. I know nothing about this show... or whatever it was. What was it like working with him? 

Greg: It was great. We did four two hour movies and we did 18 one hour shows. With the 18 one hour shows I don't know if they all got aired. It was fun. For me it was a whole departure in my life to move to Canada for a few years pretty much. That show in a way was kinda ahead of its time. All the concepts that they came up with we are all using them now. They didn't have the technology to do it the same way but the concepts were still there. 

Me: Did you get along with Shatner? 

Greg: Yeah, we got along. He's the one that really wanted me for the role. Its funny, when I went in for the audition he says, "Greg, look, I know you're an actor. I really appreciate your work and I don't want you to have to read, I just want to talk." We were in this dark lit room with the casting director and a single light and everything. I said, "It's okay, I did come prepared and all that." We talked for a little bit then he said, "Okay, let's read." LOL. "I thought you didn't want me to read." But after we did he pretty much told me in the room I'm the guy. 

Me: Cool. Thanks so much for being on the Phile. I hope this was fun. 

Greg: Great, man. Great talking to you.

That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Greg for a fun interview. The Phile will be back on Wednesday with Sarah Chalke from "Rick and Morty." Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye. Kiss your brain. 

Give me some rope, tie me to dream, give me the hope to run out of steam, somebody said it could be here. We could be roped up, tied up, dead in a year. I can't count the reasons I should stay. One by one they all just fade away...