Michael Allen's Blog: Michael Allen Online, page 11

The Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie ‘Barbie’ Confusion Explained

Margot Robbie is a producer of Barbie as well as the main character while Greta Gerwig is the movie’s director and they feel snubbed by the Oscars because while Ryan Gosling was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Margot didn’t get a nomination for Actress in a Leading Role and Greta didn’t get a nomination for Directing. While that is certainly hard to take for anyone who had a significant role in such a successful movie, it’s being analyzed as a sign that our society has yet to move away from its misogyny and sexism.

What I found interesting were the negative reviews of the movie because it was about a toy, and I guess some moviegoers just expected it to be a goofy film with plenty of jokes and nothing to say. Honestly, I found it absolutely hilarious. Ironically, all the statements the production had to make were wrapped up in sophisticated humor that heightened the sensitivities of our macho patriarchy that were the butt of those jokes.

In a general sweep of the plot, the movie begins with Barbies in charge. Ryan Gosling plays Beach Ken, whose world revolves around Barbie’s attention. When things start to go awry with sparks of existentialism, Barbie is sent on a journey to the real world, where she expects that the doll has made a positive impact on society, only to find her expectations severely dashed. Ken volunteers himself to go with her and is soon to learn that this strange new world works a totally different way. When he brings the principles of patriarchy back with him to Barbieland, he flips it on its head.

Of course, the entire story is a reflection of our society and the struggle that women have fighting for equality and rights, even over their own bodies. It has to be acknowledge and it’s a heavy message to lay on a movie about a toy. But with bad reviews from enthusiastic critics who found their entire worldview being insulted, the message was obviously on the mark. The main question is, did Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig get snubbed, reflecting the very message they were trying to send?

Let’s review! At the Golden Globes, Ryan Gosling was nominated for Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, but the movie itself was nominated for Musical or Comedy Motion Picture. Margot Robbie herself was nominated for Actress in a Musical or Comedy Motion Picture. Greta Gerwig was nominated for Director of a Motion Picture, and she and Noah Baumbach were nominated for Screenplay of a Motion Picture. Plus, the kicker is that Barbie won a Golden Globe for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. They weren’t snubbed at the Golden Globes.

So, let’s look at the Oscars! Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, David Heyman, and Robbie Brenner have been nominated for Best Picture. America Ferrera has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach have been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, and to add, Jacqueline Durran was nominated for Best Costume Design while Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer were nominated for Best Production Design.

For some reason though, the focus is on the fact that Ryan Gosling was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. He has come out with a statement voicing his disapproval that Margot wasn’t nominated for Best Actress and Greta wasn’t nominated for Director, which has led to some fans urging him to forfeit his nomination. Rightfully so, he’s made it clear that he won’t be doing that because his nomination and possible win honors the film.

Both Margot and Greta stand the chance of walking away with Oscars on that evening. That’s not called snubbing. Snubbing in this context would be to ignore or overlook. That didn’t happen to them.

They just didn’t get nominated in the categories they wanted. But they were up against some stiff competition. In the Best Actress category, the nominations are Emma Stone for Poor Things, Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon, Annette Bening for Nyad, Carey Mulligan for Maestro, and Sandra Huller for Anatomy of a Fall. For Best Director, the nominations are Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall, Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon, Yorgos Lanthimos for Poor Things, Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer, and Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest.

Women weren’t snubbed for Best Director because even though it’s one nomination out of the five, Justine Triet is among them. And how about some kudos for Jacqueline Durran for Best Costume Design as well as Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer for Best Production Design? And I’d like to congratulate America Ferrera for her nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

The movie wasn’t snubbed and women weren’t snubbed, even though it ironically reflects the inequality that Barbie was trying to make clear. One way to look at it, Margot and Greta have the world talking about it and that’s a win regardless if it’s not a plaque on the side of a trophy.

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Spotlight On Sofia Vergara And Reverse Body Shaming

Sofia Vergara is probably mostly known for her role in Modern Family and as a judge on America’s Got Talent, but she’s starred in such works as Hot Pursuit, Chef, and most recently, Griselda, which gets released tomorrow on Netflix. Yet, for some reason, she has been talking about her body getting her far in the industry, and if that’s the conversation we’re having, it comes across to me as reverse body shaming.

Recently, Sofia Vergara told the Spanish newspaper El País, “My giant boobs and my body opened doors for me. They were my passport to the world when I was 20 years old when I started as a model, but today I’m 51 years old, and I’m still here.”

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She continued, “It would be absurd to deny it or for that to make me feel bad.”

Then, she added, “I don’t do brain surgery, it’s just entertainment, and the worst that can happen to me is that they can say I look ugly or that this jackass doesn’t know how to act. I can take it.”

“There are women who are prettier, younger, who have bigger breasts and a better body than me, but I’m still around because I have demonstrated that I can stay.” She went on to say, “From a very young age, I’ve known my strengths, and I’ve played to them. But if you only see my boobs, then that’s your problem.”

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A post shared by Sofia Vergara (@sofiavergara)

If Sofia Vergara has to have a conversation like this, obviously something prompted it. It leads me to believe that she’s being accused of using her body to make her way into Hollywood and that maybe they’re saying it had nothing to do with her talent.

They body shame women for being large. They body shame women for being too skinny. They body shame women for losing weight and looking gorgeous. They body shame women for coming up from the deadly weight that was slowly taking their lives. They talk themselves around in circles because all they can think about is the negative of every single thing.

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A post shared by Sofia Vergara (@sofiavergara)

If they’re body-shaming Sofia Vergara, what they’re finding is an unapologetic role model who demonstrates just how to brush the comments off and keep going. She has no reason to feel shame at all for being beautiful, and anyone who’s trying is a troll who belongs in the hate pile with all the other critics who don’t deserve one ounce of attention.

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Snoop Dogg Shares Video Of Mistaken Identity

Snoop Dogg is a good sport, and he shows that side of himself all the time. This time, it’s over a passenger on a flight who was mistaken for him, and several passengers, as well as a now famous flight attendant, never double-guessed themselves about it.

“I know he isn’t Snoop Dogg now, but I originally did think it was him, and he was so very sweet with a beautiful smile that lit up his whole face,” flight attendant Chrissy Lofton told the New York Post. “He may be a lookalike, but he was very much a gentleman, and I’m still glad he was on my flight and left several people with a memorable flight.”

Chrissy Lofton was working a Southwest Airlines flight to Fort Lauderdale when she saw a man she mistook for Snoop Dogg. Obviously a huge fan, she asked for a selfie, and the man’s cousin obliged. He also got a video that he enjoyed posting to the internet because he was getting a kick out of it. Of course, he and his Snoop Dogg lookalike cousin shared a laugh about their inside secret.

But one thing they didn’t do. They didn’t correct her. They kept it to themselves and let everyone believe he was the actual rapper, which was a good thing. They didn’t ruin the moment for anyone. It was a noble choice even though they would all eventually find out, and now, they’re all part of the joke.

Lofton took it pretty well and even praised the passenger for being such a good guy about everything. It’s crazy how Snoop Dogg can make headlines, even when he had nothing to do with it. That speaks volumes for the man’s character, and that’s why he’s climbed so high and has all the fans he does. He’s a real one. They’re hard to find these days.

Of course, the internet has been making jokes about the situation and the flight attendant. In this day, that’s going to happen every time everyone does the simplest thing. The only thing for the flight attendant to do is laugh it off and move forward. News about her will fade as soon as the next thing comes along.

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Odd Pregnancy: Two Babies, Two Wombs, One Mom

Kelsey Hatcher pulled off something that was rather unusual when she had her twins in mid-December last year. Her pregnancy goes down in the history books as a one-in-a-million mom who delivered two babies from two different wombs in two days.

That’s a bit strange, huh? When you hear something like that, you wonder how it’s even possible. Did I miss something in biology? But no, they don’t teach this because it happens to only .3% of women.

Her pregnancy was unique from the beginning because she was diagnosed as a teen with uterus didelphys. She has two uteruses, and even though she had bonafide fraternal twins, they each had their own womb.

via Jennifer Alsabrook-Turner

When Kelsey posted about the two-day birth, she joked that since they had their own wombs during the pregnancy, “They should just go ahead and have their own birthdays too.”

Roxi Layla was the first to come out when she was born at 7:49 pm on December 19th, and she waited patiently for the next ten hours for her sister Rebel Laken to arrive at 6:09 am on December 20. They were delivered at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, and nurses couldn’t wait to get their selfie with her for the once-in-a-lifetime pregnancy I’m sure they will never forget.

via Instagram/doubleuhatchlings

Now, there are five kids in the family, which makes this story a little more strange. She had three regular pregnancies before her uterus didelphys activated and brought twins into her life through two different routes. That is phenomenal. Look at me, talking about uterus didelphys as if it’s a superpower that needed activating. I’m not a doctor, so I have no other way to describe it, but I would definitely say it’s a superpower.

Roxi and Rebel will have one great story to tell their whole lives, and I have so many questions that only time will answer. Will they look the same? Will they act the same? Will they be similar at all?

They’ve already started off life making their own statements in this world. I am going to take a guess and say that their lives are going to be drastically different, but both in a good way.

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Robots Are Coming And McDonald’s Automation Is The New Thing

The headlines are saying there is a new McDonald’s that is run by robots, not one human in the building. That’s the kind of automation many people fear, but it’s not entirely true, as you are soon to find out.

Imagine ordering your food from McDonald’s and driving up to a window where it’s delivered to you on a conveyor belt. What would that whole scenario look like? An order causes a fury of automation, from fries being dropped into an unmanned fryer to burger patties being flopped onto the grill and cooked to the perfect level of doneness. Can you imagine a day when the ice cream machine always works?

It seems as if there are several facilities that have opened up and are reporting that they are completely human-free. It’s an eery place where you are met at the door by a kiosk. You order your food and then walk up to a counter with no clerks behind it. There is no seating because they don’t want you to stay. Fast food has taken on a whole new meaning in this place. It really is designed to get you in and out as fast as possible.

Not only that, but there are different ways of ordering, and one is designed with absolute order accuracy in mind. The first way is going in, and that’s the scene you’ll see if you choose that route. The second, of course, is the drive-thru, and that hasn’t changed. But the third is ordering from the app on your way to the store. This is McDonald’s automation at its optimum potential.

Food preparation is put on hold until you reach a certain spot while driving to the facility. That’s when the burger and the fry motion begins. It knows exactly how long it takes to make your food, and by knowing where you are, which it does because you’re using its app, it can track your location and make sure that the food is finished just before the handoff, wasting absolutely no time at all.

Here’s the catch. In this very entertaining video, you’ll find out that there are people working in these McDonald’s facilities. The actual premise is to keep the customers and the workers separate from each other so the workers are out of sight. And that’s not entirely true either because you’ll see a few of them in the video as these two people eat McDonald’s food for several days to test the place thoroughly.

This isn’t the first issue with McDonald’s. It’s just another in a series of things that have drastically changed McDonald’s from the family place it was to the non-people-friendly place it’s trying to become.

The fact is that there are robots involved now, and this isn’t the first time a robot has been programmed to do certain tasks. It has been going on for years. There are robots doing precision movements in science so that human hands won’t flaw the process.

There are robots all over industrial tasks, from building cars to putting together computers. They can be taught just about anything, and there is nothing to stop the big companies from replacing humans with robots because they don’t take breaks, they don’t unionize, and they never ask for wage increases.

Optimus folds a shirt pic.twitter.com/3F5o3jVLq1

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 15, 2024

However, don’t let that lead you into despair. If you work at McDonald’s or you fold shirts at a clothing company, get ahead of the trend. Think it through.

Robots haven’t taken over yet, but you see the writing on the wall. So, position yourself for the opportunities that lie ahead. There will always be a need for someone to program the robot and maintain it. There will always be a need for supplies to be delivered to facilities where robots will be doing their jobs. There will be more opportunities available as machines are moved in than are now. Innovation breeds innovation, and all you have to do is be ready to seize the opportunity.

Learn what it takes to run the machines, and you might be able to keep yourself gainfully employed. To be honest, McDonald’s isn’t the kind of place to start a career anyway. It should be a place to work while going to college, learning a skill, or looking for something better. It’s the kind of job that was never meant for you to stay all your life.

*Send all hate mail to donthateme@imjusttalkingtruth.com…

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Tragic Footage Of Man Impaling Himself Proven Not Deep Fake

Deep Fake videos can seem so real that everyone is guessing when they see something that doesn’t look right. But this footage of a man impaling himself has been proven to be true and not fake news.

In the video, there are bollards in a line between the sidewalk and the street. Suddenly, a man falls from the sky and lands on one of them. It’s like a scene from Ridiculousness. Only, you watch as the man’s hands drop to his side and realize that the bollard is up in him.

That’s when you stop exhaling. And it’s not deep fake. There is a whole write-up that is long-winded, but after you watch the video, I’ll summarize what it says.

Warning: This video is very shocking. Watch at your own risk!

bro became a kabob pic.twitter.com/ebWvHvBeVA

— 1000 WAYS TO DIE (@1000waystod1e) January 12, 2024

I told you it was shocking. When his arms started to fall, that’s when I thought the man had left this world. But it’s not. The write-up about the incident explains in great detail how the police and a medical team arrived and attempted to save his life. via Paris Police Prefecture

The report continues that on November 29, 2020, police and a medical team rushed to the scene and began the process of keeping him alive while finding a way to remove him from the bollard. They rushed him to Hospital Beaujon AP-HP in Clichy, France. He lived for an hour after that.

What the report states as the reason is that he jumped from the roof of a building and fell six stories to protest cars parking there. The location is on Rue de la Jonquière in the 17th Arrondissement of Paris.

When a Spanish news station attempted to use the footage as proof of how authentic deep fake videos can seem, investigations led to the truth that it was leaked footage from the Paris Police Prefecture. Lawyers for the family are suing the Police for leaking the footage, citing that it is an extreme violation of the man’s privacy.

I can feel that. Certainly, I can. But it happened in public, and we have no further expectations for privacy for anything we do in public.

I’m still a little wound up about the video. I’ll probably think about it all day and never be able to get it out of my head. RIP! I don’t even know who you are, but that is one of the worst ways to die.

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Loophole In ‘Self Reliance’ With Jake Johnson and Anna Kendrick

Jake Johnson wrote and directed Self Reliance as well as acted in it with Anna Kendrick. It’s a movie about a man who decides to continue in a game where he agrees to be hunted for 30 days, and if he survives, he gets a million dollars.

Jake Johnson has a meeting with the people who invited him to the game. After asking questions, he learns that the hunters can’t kill him if he’s with a family member or a friend, anyone who would be in danger if they were close to him. So, he comes up with a loophole.

He asks his family and friends if they would stay with him for the 30 days he has to stay alive, and they each decline. They think he’s insane. They don’t believe a word he’s saying, and quite frankly, he sounds insane. I know he’s not lying, but he even sounds insane to me. I would have thought the same thing, but I would have shadowed him. Why not? What does it hurt?

Anyway, he’s forced to hire a bum to shadow him, and that works out pretty well. But he had put an ad out on Craigslist to see if anyone else was playing, and Anna Kendrick answered it. Jake Johnson’s brainchild is that if they are together, the hunters can’t kill them. That’s not a spoiler because that’s at the beginning of the movie, and it won’t ruin anything for you. It’s also in the trailer below, so if Hulu put that in there, the movie hasn’t been ruined for you yet, and it’s not going to be.

The thing is that I don’t see how that would work. If Anna is also playing the game, then hunters are hunting her as well. Why wouldn’t the hunters just kill them both? Anna wouldn’t be protected by the rules.

The movie is funny and interesting because of the situations in which he finds himself. Jake and Anna are great together and should do more movies or even a series. But there is more to the story, and that’s up to you to find out.

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AI Doesn’t Like The Robot, Imagine That!

My new book is being published on Patreon chapter by chapter before it’s released in hardcover, paperback, and ebook. So, I’m exploring interesting ways of making reading the book more entertaining, and some of that involves a little AI.

No! I’m not letting AI write the book for me. That’s insane. When AI started popping up all over the place, promising people it could write for them, I dreaded what was about to come. What will that do to writing? What will that do to writers?

So, I checked it out and laughed. My first thought was, thank goodness. It was the worst writing I could imagine, and I was very happy about that. If people care at all about the finished product, they won’t do it with AI.

But it does come in handy from time to time. I can create images that go along with the story. Then, an ad hit me about creating a short video, and I thought, what? Actually, that might be a good idea. If I can take a scene and make a gif out of it for the story, that might be worth doing.

So, I clicked on the ad and found an AI Video Generator with a prompt for words to describe the scene. So, I typed a scene that is in my book, “A bar full of college students with B.U. banners on the walls and the football game on every TV. A pool table sits in the middle of the room, and everyone has their faces in their smartphones.”

What I found ironic was in the next step. To make sure I was a real person, I had to check off that “I’m not a robot.” I had to tell the robot that I wasn’t one of them! AI doesn’t like it when other robots try to use it.

I think that’s discrimination. What if I was a robot, would I not be allowed to use AI to work for me? I’ve never seen anything discriminate against itself.

Speaking of my next book in Patreon…

Joker Joker Deuce

In a college town that caters to the student community, Jeph is an outsider even though he’s lived there all his life. He’s a loner who inherited his home from his mother, who was murdered by his stepfather before taking his own life.

Tracy is a freshman who is serious about college because she’s there on scholarship, and she can’t afford to lose it if she plans on turning her life around. Her roommate is determined to change all that and get Tracy to start enjoying college life instead of keeping her face in the books.

Jeph would have never known Tracy even existed if it wasn’t for her dating site profile Dawn set up for her one night just before going to bed. As detectives are investigating several murders in the area, they have put the entire college community on high alert. Despite the warnings, Tracy finds herself falling for one of her college professors, a married man who warns her to keep their relationship a secret.

As Jeph becomes more infatuated with Tracy, he learns about her hookup with the professor in a hotel room. Now, her life is in danger, and she doesn’t even know. 

It’s a psychological thriller that takes you through the mind of a serial killer and keeps you guessing for the entire ride. Enjoy an excerpt! You’ll get addicted…

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The Phenomenal Scarlett Johansson Occurrence Of 2005

It’s a crazy phenomenon that happens in real-time, making it very hard to explain. When Scarlett Johansson was on the red carpet at the Oscars in 2005, something strange took place, and you won’t believe your eyes.

Some sleuth must have gone through footage of the Oscars from years ago, or maybe it’s a Scarlett Johansson stalker who found this clip. But it has finally emerged after all these years, and it’s a wonder no one caught it until recently. Well, we’re talking about it now.

When one of my favorite actresses was asked about the moment of the evening she most liked, she answered that it was when Philip Seymour Hoffman won Best Actor for Drama. This brings back memories. RIP Philip. At the height of his brilliant career, his life was taken from him in 2014. He was only 46 years old.

Back to the original topic at hand, it is at the very moment when she gives her answer that a lady appears behind her. Then, she seems to disappear as if going through a portal into another universe.

I can certainly understand why this phenomenon went unnoticed. Fans were paying attention to her because she demands attention when she’s in the room, and it’s hard to notice anything else going on around her.

A woman completely disappears behind Scarlett Johansson on the red carpet pic.twitter.com/c2S1yNR0FO

— Crazy Clips (@crazyclipsonly) January 9, 2024

Where did she go? I have a theory. No, it’s a good one. It’s not a conspiracy theory. Notice the guy who follows the lady behind her. He seems to step around an obstacle and emerge on the other side. It’s just the angle that makes the lady seem to disappear.

Scarlett Johansson has her own take when she adds more insight into what’s going on here. On Jimmy Fallon, Scarlett sees the footage for the first time, and what she reveals is priceless. She claims that the lady is her mother, and Jimmy doesn’t seem to believe her but thinks it’s a great joke delivered right on time.

This is Scarlett Johansson's reaction to this pic.twitter.com/HYtTGRwNgj

— Halil (@halilozbasak) January 9, 2024

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Starbucks Stanley Cup Madness Now Has A Solution

What in the world is going on? Does anyone know what happened to spark this rage over the Starbucks Stanley Cup?

It seems like it came out of nowhere. I heard one analysis that the cup couldn’t sell years ago, and so it was debunked. However, some influencers over the years found that they could actually get some value out of it, and they partnered with Stanley to bring some life back into it. Then, BAM! The whole world is fighting over the Stanley Cup.

There have been plenty of fights over the Stanley Cup. But normally, they happen during a hockey game. That reminds me of the joke: I went to a fight, and a hockey game broke out. Stick with me here. I can’t always tell zingers.

Anyway, we’re not talking about that kind of Stanley Cup. We’re talking about the new version of the Stanley line of merchandise that is somehow connected to Starbucks, and because Starbucks is in Target, chaos has ensued in those stores.

They rent for about $2,000, and you can only have one if you can answer these riddles three. It might not be that bad, but when I heard they were going for over $50, I had to scratch my head and ask myself, “Are they lined with gold? Does it make the coffee itself? What’s the thing?”

Is it one of those things where if everyone else has one, I have to have one? Is that it?

Well, I have a solution. I offer the NOT A STANLEY! It’s the same kind of cup with a lid and a handle. Only you won’t have to fight your neighbor or rob your best friend to have one. You’ll be able to order it out of the comfort of your own home without the worry of getting an elbow to the face.

Isn’t that special? The NOT A STANLEY. Because it’s not a Stanley!

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