Rams Bring Back Football Glory Days to Los Angeles

It's Bill Plaschke, at LAT, "Rams’ glory days, and a city’s Super Bowl dreams, return in win over Dallas Cowboys":

Rams reintroduce roaring Coliseum to winning playoff football https://t.co/WQ8616JFM3

— Bill Plaschke (@BillPlaschke) January 13, 2019

After more than two decades of midwinter silence, a city’s football soul came alive again, cutting through the winter chill with a roar that shook the Coliseum down to its soggy ankles.

The Rams are 60 minutes from a Super Bowl.

In only their third season back, the city’s prodigal football sons brought winning playoff football home again, delighting awed witnesses with a frenetic, fireworks-blasting feast.

The Rams are one win from a Super Bowl.

In the greatest, latest football game played around here in many seasons, the Rams spent more than three hours on a soggy field Saturday giving thousands of yellow flag-waving fans a refresher course in January greatness.

This is what a playoff victory looks like. This is how a team survives football’s toughest tournament. This is how the Super Bowl becomes close enough to touch.

“This,” tackle Rob Havenstein said, “was electric.”

This was the Rams’ 30-22 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in a divisional playoff game that sent them to the NFC championship game next week in one of two places.

If the New Orleans Saints defeat the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, the Rams will take their toughness to the Big Easy. If the Eagles win, the conference title game will be back in the Coliseum, and won’t that be a hoot?

The winner of that championship game goes to the Super Bowl. Of course that’s how this works, but it never hurts to remind everyone because it’s been a while.

No matter who they play next week, I’m picking the Rams because, as a crowd delightfully dominated by the locals Saturday night, they are once again the Rams.

“That’s a big-time win for us,” coach Sean McVay said. “It’s a step in the right direction.”

With a soggy field underneath them from the day’s early rains, with lingering smoke above their helmets from the midgame pyrotechnics, the Rams appeared in the Coliseum as if ghosts from the recent past.

They gained 459 total yards. They rushed for 273 of those yards. They didn’t commit a turnover. They barely made any mistakes. And they held the Cowboys’ great Ezekiel Elliott to 47 yards rushing.

“Our focus was to shut him down,” said Ndamukong Suh, who didn’t need to say anything else.

This was the team that started the season 11-1, not the team that finished it 2-2.

This was the Jared Goff who dominated defenses early, not the one who struggled late. He completed only 15 of 28 passes for 186 yards but managed the game to near perfection.

“This week was a big game, but next week will be a big game as well,” the ever-circumspect quarterback said...

More.

And from former L.A.T. sports reporter Lindsey Thiry, not at ESPN:

Jared Goff and the Rams will play for a trip to the Super Bowl. pic.twitter.com/gMHeuSLuRm

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) January 13, 2019

Aaron Donald celebrates with his kids. pic.twitter.com/LBRJbSf4Pq

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) January 13, 2019

Jared Goff hollers out, “Fat back!” as CJ Anderson meets with the media. pic.twitter.com/6c35R92GoJ

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) January 13, 2019

“This ain’t shit. We still got one more. Got to keep winning,” — Todd Gurley. pic.twitter.com/RMtTojHET8

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) January 13, 2019

Jan. 12, 2017: 30-head-old Sean McVay becomes youngest head coach hired in modern NFL history.
Jan. 12, 2019: 32-year-old McVay becomes youngest head coach to win a playoff game in NFL history, per Elias Sports Bureau. https://t.co/R7yLNgCeYw pic.twitter.com/3HWfv6j35P

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) January 13, 2019

It was Super Bowl or bust from the start. Now the Rams are one win away. https://t.co/qgxrv02Pyw

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) January 13, 2019

Ben Winters, Golden State

Well, this one ought to be really interesting.

At Amazon, Ben Winters, Golden State.

From award-winning, New York Times bestselling novelist Ben H. Winters comes a mind-bending novel set in a world governed by absolute truth, where lies are as dangerous as murder.

In a strange alternate society that values law and truth above all else, Laszlo Ratesic is a nineteen-year veteran of the Speculative Service. He lives in the Golden State, a nation standing where California once did, a place where like-minded Americans retreated after the erosion of truth and the spread of lies made public life and governance impossible.

In the Golden State, knowingly contradicting the truth is the greatest crime--and stopping those crimes is Laz's job. In its service, he is one of the few individuals permitted to harbor untruths, to "speculate" on what might have happened.

But the Golden State is less a paradise than its name might suggest. To monitor, verify, and enforce the truth requires a veritable panopticon of surveillance and recording. And when those in control of the facts twist them for nefarious means, the Speculators are the only ones with the power to fight back.

Evelyn Taft's Sunday Forecast

The fabulous Ms. Evelyn is back!

At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Jenna Dewan for Women's Health Magazine (PHOTOS)

This is from last year, but it's nice.

At TMZ, "JENNA DEWAN: NAKED & NOT AFRAID OF HER NEW SINGLE LIFE --- Roaming Hottie Goes Fully Nude for Women's Health Magazine (PHOTOS)."

Jenna Dewan Goes Fully Nude for Women's Health https://t.co/RRu5a6ZAtV

— TMZ (@TMZ) July 28, 2018

Amber Heard on the Street

At Taxi Driver, "Amber Heard Rock Hard Pokies on the Street."

Lilly Rose Depp

She's just a sweet little thing.

At Drunken Stepfather, "Lily Rose Depp in a Bra of the Day."

And at Too Fab, "Lily-Rose Depp Goes Topless, Poses with Pam Anderson and Talks 'Twilight' with Kristen Stewart."

Cormac McCarthy, The Road

*BUMPED.*

A truly astonishing novel, better than Blood Meridian even.

At Amazon, Cormac McCarthy, The Road.

Today's Deals

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BONUS: William Styron, Sophie's Choice.

How the Pursuit of Fame is Warping American Society

A really good piece, from John Hawkins, at Pajamas, "The Fame Trap: How the Pursuit of Fame Is Warping American Society":

The Fame Trap: How the Pursuit of Fame Is Warping American Society https://t.co/RP3y1NHyFJ #Lifestyle via @pjmedia_com

— John Hawkins (@johnhawkinsrwn) January 8, 2019

“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” – Andy Warhol

Fame used to be quite the rare commodity if only because there were fewer ways to become famous in the first place. Radio really started to take off in the 1920s, half of all American families acquired a TV in 1955, and the internet only started to be widely used in the early '90s. Facebook came along in 2004, YouTube in 2005, and Twitter in 2006. In 1991, there were 90 adult magazines in America. Today, there are millions of porn websites. The first UFC was in 1993. Amazon sells roughly 15 million regular books per year and another 22 million on Kindle. Amazon did not exist in 1993.

Because of the vast number of websites on the internet looking for something to cover, the almost inexhaustible number of large niches out there, and the nature of social media, fame seems closer than ever for most people and for that reason, more people than ever seem to be seeking it.

We have reality TV shows, where unstable, explosive people are put together and the rest of us “oooh and aaah” at the crazy things they do. Are you good at a video game? Well, there are plenty of people like you with hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitch and YouTube. Some people even go pro. There are also more than a few attractive women putting up pictures of themselves on Instagram looking sexy and getting contributions towards, well, whatever it is they do on Patreon. YouTube also has plenty of personalities making big bucks playing a role. Some of the numbers are just staggering.

WHAT GIRLS THINK ON THEIR FIRST PERIOD: 4.9 million views

I only ate LUNCHABLES for 24 hours: 2.5 million views

LOGAN PAUL - WHY 2018 WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT YEAR OF MY LIFE: 5.7 million views

RATING YOUTUBER APOLOGY VIDEOS 12 million views

Incidentally, the #1 channel on YouTube, PewDiePie, has 80 million subscribers. That’s greater than the population of the entire United States in 1900.

Of course, when you are talking about micro-doses of fame, they’re even easier to get.

Go scream at Ted Cruz and his wife while they’re having dinner and you can guarantee that tens of millions of people will see it. Tell a sad story about how someone didn’t tip you or a fast-food worker was mean to you and you can make headlines all over the country. Say something witty or maybe even not all that witty and if it catches the eye of someone famous and he retweets it, you may get tens of thousands of new followers and hundreds of thousands of likes. Candace Owens’ entire career on the Right is built on the fact that Kanye West liked what she was tweeting. And there are more than a few people with 50,000+ followers because Donald Trump retweeted them. Get enough Instagram or Twitter followers and you get treated like you’re important. Are you famous if you have 50,000 or 100,000 people following you on some social network? Not really, but the level of validation must feel like it. Then, there’s Joe and Jill Average's Facebook page. Here’s the best selfie they took out by the lake. It only took them 17 tries to get that shot. Here they are on a trip to Las Vegas, beside a pretty girl, making a goofy face at a statue.

You might argue that once you’re getting down to this level, people are chasing validation more than fame, but it’s not that different. They’re creating a brand that they hope will get as many people as possible to respond positively to them instead of showing their real life.

Of course, that’s not the only way we change our lives for fame. Those of us who have been around the internet for a while can remember when trolling was considered something unusual done by misanthropes living in their moms’ basements. Today, trolling is commonplace and is done by everyone from the president of the United States on down. Why? Because if you want that fame and attention, one of the best ways to get it is to find a popular post and post something that will irritate most of the people reading it. Then you’ll get lots of hate and aggravate lots of people, but you also may get new followers along with lots of likes and shares.

Not every person chasing that fame is inauthentic, bad or doing something wrong; nor is fame in and of itself a bad thing. But, what is chasing that fame turning us into as a society? What happens when hundreds of millions of people are looking to feel special for a little while as the likes, follows, and shares roll in or alternately, among the more dedicated, looking for a way to get their name in the news?

How many women do you think grew up dreaming of dressing in lingerie and offering lewds on Patreon to entice horny losers to give them money? How many people are wasting their lives on social media? I ask that as I just noticed a reply from someone on Twitter who has done 134K tweets with only 2,868 followers. What could she have done with that time if she had applied it to something meaningful in her life? That applies to what most of us are doing on social media. How much of Twitter is just people being deliberately cruel to other people or saying crazy things to get likes, shares and followers? 25 percent? 40 percent? 50 percent?

Keep reading.

Reading that line about lewd photos offered for money on Patreon, I just noticed that Bridget Phetasy's deleted her Twitter account. (She's still on Patreon, though.) I thought her breast photos were kind of weird, actually, and I certainly didn't think she was conservative, although a lot of folks on Twitter did.

In any case, I've posted 174 thousand tweets on that stupid website, although I'd argue that I've also been able to do "something meaningful" in my life, heh. In 2018, for example, I posted just 1,578 blog posts at American Power (check the sidebar). I spent much more time reading than ever, and I've been more involved as a father and a husband. Besides, as I mentioned the other day, I'm looking to spend less time on the Twitter hate-dump in 2019. All the best people are being deplatformed, and more and more I see people complaining that it's all hate all the time.

So, it's not quantity but quality. Thanks for tuning in folks. I'll still be on Twitter, because I use it as a news feed. But I'm not too worried about "validation," since it's mostly narcissists and haters on the platform nowadays anyway. (There are still some real good people using Twitter, of course, but the cost/benefit analysis is hard to justify anymore, FWIW.)

See Helen Pluckrose, for a case in point:

People are so nasty. I don't understand it. I very strongly disagree with many people and actively dislike a smaller number of people but the sheer level of seemingly casual vitriol coming at me on a daily basis now is very dispiriting. It challenges my humanism.

— Helen Pluckrose (@HPluckrose) January 9, 2019

It's like they conceptualise the world as made up of good and evil people and have accepted this as normal and adjusted to it so they can just say hateful things to and about the bad people without it being a big deal. Some people are just evil and I am one of them.

— Helen Pluckrose (@HPluckrose) January 9, 2019

If I thought there were a significant number of people in this world who were as ill-motivated and dishonest as these people who have never talked to me seemingly casually assume I am, I'd be in complete despair and horror all the time.

— Helen Pluckrose (@HPluckrose) January 9, 2019

I think there are terrible people but that most people mean well even if they are horribly wrong & doing much harm. I cld only imagine myself saying the things people say to me daily to another human being if I'd spent much time listening & trying & failing to get through to them

— Helen Pluckrose (@HPluckrose) January 9, 2019

I will just have to learn to shrug them off and focus on the people who can connect with me and have conversations.

— Helen Pluckrose (@HPluckrose) January 9, 2019

Well, now people are being kind and encouraging and I suddenly feel much better. Kindness is the best part of humanity. And now I shall go to bed. Goodnight, tweeps.

— Helen Pluckrose (@HPluckrose) January 9, 2019

Jennifer Lopez for Harper's Bazaar (PHOTOS)

At Drunken Stepfather, "JENNIFER LOPEZ SLUTTY FOR HARPERS BAZAAR OF THE DAY."

And on Twitter:

“For me, the relationship journey has been very up and down. But it didn’t have to do with anybody else…it was about me figuring out me.” —@JLohttps://t.co/9nfO5zFDRC

— Harper's Bazaar (@harpersbazaarus) January 9, 2019

"The thing about people, women especially, is that you can have 12 people telling you you’re amazing, but that one person kind of putting you down, that’s the voice that sticks in your head." —Read @JLo's full interview for BAZAAR’s February issue here: https://t.co/8PZ9UkP9qm pic.twitter.com/PNTvzDG4Q6

— Harper's Bazaar (@harpersbazaarus) January 9, 2019

"I don’t have everything figured out, and everything isn’t perfect. But I feel very proud that with all the things I’ve gone through in my personal life, I’m still optimistic and hopeful." —Read @JLo's full interview for BAZAAR’s February issue: https://t.co/8PZ9UkP9qm pic.twitter.com/OqneDUrItH

— Harper's Bazaar (@harpersbazaarus) January 9, 2019

"From early on in my career, I felt like people wanted to put me in a box…I felt very confined by that because I knew I was going to do different things." —Read @JLo's full interview for BAZAAR’s February issue here: https://t.co/8PZ9UkP9qm pic.twitter.com/774Umq7cwb

— Harper's Bazaar (@harpersbazaarus) January 9, 2019

💥 Light it up in 2019 💥

Cover Story: https://t.co/aPHRprlsOW pic.twitter.com/6Esu8YyvaD

— Jennifer Lopez (@JLo) January 9, 2019

Jennifer Delacruz's Midweek Forecast

Here's the lovely Ms. Jennifer, for ABC News 10 San Diego:

Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi Become Instant Memes with Democrat Response to President Trump's Border Wall Address (VIDEO)

Robert Stacy McCain has the analysis, "Schumer and Pelosi Own the Shutdown Even as They Try to Blame Trump."

And at Instapundit, "STEPHEN GREEN: “The content of the speech reminds me of Bill Clinton, in that it’s smartly triangulated and far more reasonable than his critics tried to make you expect.”

It really was instant meme town last night --- Schumer and Pelosi looked terrible!

The meme's were practically writing themselves! See Twitchy:

‘Chuck and Nancy already look like a meme’: Democrat response is an optics fail https://t.co/fCPEPm1OSN

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) January 9, 2019

Emily Miller had some of the best tweets analyzing the optics (although not included at Twitchy):

TV tip for Schumer and Pelosi - When on a two shot, look at the person talking, not at the camera. Gives impression of hostage tape.

— Emily Miller (@EmilyMiller) January 9, 2019

I’m sure Chuck and Nancy have been on TV as much as I have. How do they not know to look at the speaker ?

— Emily Miller (@EmilyMiller) January 9, 2019

2. The other TV tip reason Chuck and Nancy seemed weird to viewers is they were both reading along the TelePrompTer as the other spoke. They weren’t reacting to the other’s message. Thus the dead in the eyes appearance.

— Emily Miller (@EmilyMiller) January 9, 2019

And here's the full video, for the lolz:

Eminem's Daughter Hailie Scott Posts Bikini Photo on Instagram

At People:

Eminem's Daughter Hailie, 23, Shares Sexy Bikini Pic from New Year's Vacation https://t.co/NO3PByWQZL

— People (@people) January 4, 2019

Also, at GCeleb, "Eminem’s Daughter Does The Instagram Bikini Thing Too."

And, at the Mirror U.K.:

Eminem's daughter Hailie Scott Mathers is an Instagram sensation https://t.co/2qy6S7Rbey pic.twitter.com/PX7pO6Pm6T

— Mirror Celeb (@MirrorCeleb) January 4, 2019

Yellow Vest Update

Clarie Berlinski rattled off a long thread last night on the violence of the yellow vest protesters.

They're anarcho-nihilists, basically, and Berlinski's mad because she thinks Macron's a pussy, he's caving to the street scum, and his political cowardice will strengthen the "far right." So, she calls for more authoritarian responses to the protests as a way to prevent "real" right-wing authoritarians from coming to power.

@threadreaderapp , would you please unroll this? Thank you very much for being a good bot.

— Claire Berlinski (@ClaireBerlinski) January 8, 2019

Hello you can read it here: Thread by @ClaireBerlinski: "I agree completely with @NTenzer when he says that violence is consubstantial with this movement. It's not the word I wo […]" https://t.co/zwj2JwOKf9
Share this if you think it's interesting. 🤖

— Thread Reader App (@threadreaderapp) January 8, 2019

And some of the things that have been happening this last weekend, although given Ms. Claire's animated exasperation, I doubt media reports can replace being on the ground in Paris and watching local media coverage in real time:

At the Local (France), "VIDEO: Protesters attack French ministry with forklift truck."

More:

Yellow vests: France to crack down on unsanctioned protests https://t.co/ACOI7GLrUz

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 7, 2019

7 January 2019

Christophe Dettinger: Boxer surrenders after clash with riot police in Paris

PHOTO: A former professional boxer who was filmed at the weekend punching a police officer on a bridge in Paris during a "yellow vest"... https://t.co/yKwxeUvfhC

— Maria Battles (@maria_battles) January 8, 2019

Facebook, Twitter Work With Conservatives to Manage Political Speech on Their Platforms

This is interesting.

If you're wondering why @CNN's Thought Police commissar @oliverdarcy is throwing a tantrum today, it involves this WSJ article. https://t.co/yE0qL3luW7

— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) January 8, 2019

What in the world? Ali Akbar isn't exactly a traditional conservative activist. He's aligned with fringe pro-Trump voices on the right. Why is @jack seeking advice from him? https://t.co/lrQxNMiG3m

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) January 8, 2019

I worked for McCain in 2008 and also as a high level Convention staffer working as a liaison between Secret Service and the campaign.

Cofounded the Tea Party movement.

Over 150 mainstream conservative groups have sponsored my events.

Oliver Darcy is trying to deplatform me. pic.twitter.com/ZCOcbFWp3S

— Ali Alexander (@ali) January 8, 2019

A Year of Shunning and Lawsuits at a Canadian University

It's Lindsay Shepherd, at Quillette, "Thoughtcrime and Punishment."

Her story is familiar, but I hadn't heard about her being shunned in her last semester or so of graduate school, which would violate all kinds of civil rights regulations if professors did this on my campus:

New @QuilletteM
Lindsay Shepherd @NewWorldHominin describes her excommunication at @Laurier after she blew the whistle on Nathan Rambukkana and the diversity-enforcement officials who convened her star chamber https://t.co/5BB8wUR6RA

— Jonathan Kay (@jonkay) January 8, 2019

...in another one of my courses, our last three classes (which were to consist of graduate student presentations) were nominally “cancelled.” In fact, they went on behind closed doors: The professor changed the program structure, so that students could invite whoever they wanted to attend their own class presentations—which effectively meant that every other student in the class attended everyone else’s presentations, with me being excluded from all of them. This was a way of shunning me—singling me out so that I would miss the opportunity to learn from and discuss the presentations of my colleagues...

RTWT.

George Packer, The Unwinding

At Amazon, George Packer, The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America.

Jennifer Delacruz's Tuesday Forecast

It's been mild this week, thankfully. I was freezing last week out in Yucca Valley, sheesh.

Here's the lovely Ms. Jennifer with today's forecast.

Taylor Swift at the Golden Globe After-Party (PHOTOS)

She's nice.

Taylor Swift Bustier And More Cleavagy Than Ever? Yes Please! https://t.co/XL6nsXB3z3 #TaylorSwift #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/6HKDJsU7qw

— Popoholic (@Popoholic) January 8, 2019

Bikini Roundup

At Egotastic!, "Weekend Bikini Roundup: Ridiculously Sexy Model Bods in Beautiful Bikinis to Start the Year."

Izabel Goulart is unbelievably hot, dang!