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☆ Phil Hartman: 25 years after the actor’s tragic death, his work still resonates
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Twenty-five years after Phil Hartman’s tragic death, his memorable comedic work still brings joy to audiences. That work included eight seasons on “Saturday Night Live,” where his impressions of Frank Sinatra and President Bill Clinton set a gold standard. (From left) Dennis Miller, Jon Lovitz and Phil Hartman during the 'Weekend Update' segment on "Saturday Night Live" in December 1986. He was the actor [and] entertainer, and then he was the recluse.”“Seeing Phil at The Groundlings was Phil being truly Phil,” she added. In an interview shortly before his death, Hartman reflected on his appreciation for his life and the success he had found.

☆ Walmart employees are inundating the company's social-media site with memes making fun of management
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Walmart started using Workplace, a Meta-designed social-media app, in 2017. "Most of the posts I see on Workplace are just memes making fun of management and corporate," a Walmart employee from Minnesota said. On Walmart's Workplace site, the first photo was captioned "using workplace for work-related posts," and the second photo said "using workplace for memes." Just as on Facebook, users have Workplace feeds where they see what other Walmart workers post, with their names attached. The Walmart employee from Michigan said he was "surprised at first" that workers would share memes on Workplace without being anonymous.

☆ DeSantis may have overreached when he went to war with Disney, and Trump smells blood in the water
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Florida Gov. "DeSanctus is being absolutely destroyed by Disney," Trump wrote earlier this week. "DeSanctus is being absolutely destroyed by Disney," Trump crowed on his social media platform Truth earlier this week. The Florida governor wanted to burnish his national image by torching Disney. And by gobbling up intellectual property and broadcasting rights, Disney continues to be virtually inescapable.

☆ Fact Check-‘The Simpsons’ did not predict collapse of Silicon Valley Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A clip from a 1995 episode of “The Simpsons” animated series that shows the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) running out of money has been altered to claim that the show predicted the start-up focused bank’s collapse decades ahead of its time. In the video, panic ensues as character Burt Simpson announces to customers waiting at a bank “What do you mean the bank is out of money? The bank in the original episode is the First Bank of Springfield, named after the fictitious town, where the show is set. Reuters has previously fact-checked several other claims that falsely suggested “The Simpsons” predicted important world events (here), (here) and (here). A 1990s episode of The Simpsons about a bank failure was edited to substitute the name Silicon Valley Bank instead of First Bank of Springfield.

☆ Disney drops 'Simpsons' episode in Hong Kong in which character references 'forced labor camps' in China, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Disney dropped a "Simpsons" episode from its streaming service in Hong Kong, the FT first reported. Another Simpsons episode, referring to the Tiananmen Square massacre, was cut in Hong Kong in 2021. Beijing has sought to exert greater control over Hong Kong, a semiautonomous region of China, since pro-democracy protests erupted there in 2019. It's been accused among other things of conducting forced labor, surveillance, forced sterilization, and setting up re-education camps. Disney cut another episode of The Simpsons from its streaming service in Hong Kong in 2021.

☆ Simpsons episode that mentions 'forced labor camps' in China is cut from Disney+ in Hong Kong
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —An episode of “The Simpsons” that includes a line about “forced labor camps” in mainland China has been pulled from Disney’s streaming platform in Hong Kong. Bitcoin mines, forced labor camps where children make smartphones, and romance.”CNN has confirmed that the episode — which first aired in October — is unavailable on the Hong Kong version of Disney+. Disney (DIS) declined to comment, while the Hong Kong government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In November 2021, the Hollywood giant removed another episode of “The Simpsons” from its Disney+ platform in Hong Kong. Former detainees have alleged they were subjected to intense political indoctrination, forced labor, torture, and sexual abuse in such sites.

☆ Disney's Hong Kong service drops 'Simpsons' episode with 'forced labor' reference
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) has cut an episode from the hit cartoon series "The Simpsons" that contains a reference to "forced labour camps" in China from its streaming service in Hong Kong, according to a check of the service. The episode "One Angry Lisa", which first aired in October on television, is not available on the U.S. company's Disney Plus streaming service in Hong Kong, according to a check by Reuters. Reuters was not able to establish when it was removed from the Hong Kong service and Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bitcoin mines, forced labour camps where children make smartphones.”China denies any suggestion that forced labour occurs there. In 2021, Disney removed an episode of "The Simpsons" that made a reference to the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown when it first launched its Disney Plus service in Hong Kong.

☆ What to Watch: The 15 Best New Movies and TV Shows From January
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Wsj Arts In Review Staff | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Here’s a roundup of the month’s most noteworthy movies and TV shows, as covered by The Wall Street Journal’s critics. After eight Chucky movies, three Annabelle flicks, and dozens more killer-doll stories from “The Twilight Zone” to “The Simpsons,” did we really need another one? I’d say yes, because “M3gan” is wittily written and smoothly plotted by Akela Cooper , from a story by her and James Wan , as well as tautly directed by Gerard Johnstone , who hearkens all the way back to Mary Shelley ’s warning. Like Dr. Frankenstein, we’ve created a monster, but there’s no way to kill off tech.

☆ AI bot that lets you chat with Jesus, Hitler is latest GPT-3 controversy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

But this week, it sparked viral controversy online over its inclusion of Hitler, his Nazi lieutenants and other dictators from the past. Historical Figures, which also uses GPT-3, launched the first week of January, and as of Wednesday, it had about 9,000 signups, app creator Sidhant Chadda said in a phone interview. “People expect these historical figures to be truthful, but in reality, people are not always 100% honest,” he said. Asking a question costs one coin, and the app charges extra to get access to high-profile historical figures. The possibility of digitally re-animating historical figures has been gaining ground ever since, from the “The Simpsons” to holograms of dead idols such as Buddy Holly and Whitney Houston.

☆ One more thing for Democrats to fix: the Republican Party
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Neal Urwitz | Neal Urwitz Is A Public Relations Executive In Washington | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

And that, ironically, means Democrats must focus on fixing the Republican Party. And the current iteration of the Republican Party would strip away American democracy. Is it someone who is likely to make the Republican Party more or less responsible? Will that Republican Party abide by American laws and American democracy? Democracy will only survive if Democrats have done our part to create a responsible Republican Party.

☆ Simu Liu stars in 'The Simpsons' episode as Lisa's tech billionaire husband
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Brahmjot Kaur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Actor Simu Liu made an appearance Sunday on the latest episode of “The Simpsons” as Lisa Simpson’s future “visionary tech giant” husband. The episode includes multiple time jumps, beginning with with Nelson and Lisa reuniting before her college graduation. The time jumps that follow include Hubert and Lisa’s separation, their reconciliation and Nelson and Lisa’s reunification once again. Liu went to Instagram to share his excitement for the recent episode. “The Simpsons” also welcomed Simu and his character to the show’s universe on Twitter after the episode aired.

☆ Elon Musk jokes that The Simpsons predicted he would buy Twitter in an episode that aired in 2015
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk posted a picture on Saturday joking that The Simpsons predicted he would buy Twitter. Musk acquired Twitter on October 27 for $44 billion, seven years after the episode aired. Musk, who became Twitter's new owner after closing the acquisition deal on October 27, posted an image from a 2015 Simpson's episode featuring Musk. It seems unsurprising that Musk has drawn attention to an episode that one critic described as "more like a love letter to Musk than a proper Simpsons episode." Much like in The Simpsons' episode, some celebrities and politicians think Musk may have also gone too far with his ambitions for Twitter.

☆ The 20+ Best Black Friday Tech Deals to Shop Right Now
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +9 min

Whether you’re shopping for a smartphone, a computer, headphones or accessories, we have you covered with the best deals on tech. This deal is $20 less than the best price we’ve ever seen, and while Apple released a newer version of the streaming box this year, the benefits don’t outweigh this killer price. Apple’s MagSafe Charger is the fastest wireless charger out there. The MagSafe Duo Charger has the same benefits as the standalone MagSafe Charger, and it also includes an Apple Watch charger. Mophie’s 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Stand is marked down to $100, matching the lowest price we’ve seen.

☆ Pepsi once offered a fighter jet as a joke prize in a promotion. A student tried to claim it anyway.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Pepsi launched a "points" promotion in 1996 that included a "joke" prize of a $23M fighter jet. College student John Leonard took this challenge seriously, and launched a plan to nab the prize. Pepsi launched a rewards scheme called Pepsi Points, with customers able to redeem items using points accrued from buying its drinks. The company released a TV commercial for the promotion that ended with the claim that 7 million points would allow a Harrier fighter jet worth about $23 million to be redeemed. However, he saw a loophole: buy Pepsi Points for 10 cents each, meaning the seven million points needed for the jet would cost $700,000.

☆ Woman with a rare brain disease says doctors repeatedly dismissed her condition, blaming it on mental illness
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

She has since been diagnosed with Moyamoya disease, a rare brain condition that affects fewer than 1 in 100,000 people. However, she said the earlier opinion caused a substantial delay in her Moyamoya diagnosis, adding: "everywhere I went, it followed me first. Moyamoya disease is caused by a narrowing of blood vessels in the brain. However, he noted that, in general, that a condition is rare is no excuse for dismissing a patient's symptoms. Still struggling to access careIn spite of her Moyamoya disease diagnosis, Simpson says she's still struggling to access support.

☆ 'Walker Independence' and 'The Winchesters' review: These are far from pioneering prequels
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-06 | by ( Review Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —If all shows were animated like “The Simpsons,” networks wouldn’t need to strain to keep them alive. Yet live-action dramas come with shelf lives, which explains the CW’s twin attempts to extend two of its franchises with prequels: “Walker Independence,” a back-to-the-Old-West adjunct to its Texas Ranger reboot; and “The Winchesters,” a one-generation-back rekindling of the “Supernatural” flame. The main problem with “Walker” is the events that set the show in motion feel much better tailored to a limited series than an open-ended run. For now, “Walker Independence” (which, yes, will follow “Walker”) and “The Winchesters” come blessed with name recognition, but creatively speaking, first impressions say that the network has dipped into the prequel well twice too often. “Walker Independence” premieres October 6 at 9 p.m.

☆ Fact Check-The Simpsons did not predict the date of Queen Elizabeth’s death
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Altered and fabricated footage purportedly showing scenes from the animated television show The Simpsons has been shared on social media to claim that the series “predicted” the date of Queen Elizabeth II’s death. Queen Elizabeth, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and the nation's figurehead for seven decades, died on Sept. 8, 2022 aged 96 (here) (here). It highly resembles an edited image, debunked by Snopes in 2017 (here), that was fabricated to show former U.S. president Donald Trump. Matt Selman, executive producer of The Simpsons, tweeted on Sept. 22 an article by Variety that debunked the claim that the show had predicted the death of Queen Elizabeth (here). The Simpsons did not predict the date of Queen Elizabeth’s death.

☆ (video) Și iarăși The Simpsons. Animația, într-un episod din 2012, a prezis victoria lui Joe Biden la alegerile din acest an
▼ + stars: | 2020-11-08 | by ( Onixmedia Srl | ) diez.md time to read: +2 min

(video) Și iarăși The Simpsons. Animația, într-un episod din 2012, a prezis victoria lui Joe Biden la alegerile din acest anThe Simpsons au prezis, din nou, rezultatele alegerilor din SUA. Amintim că The Simpsons este cunoscut pentru prezicerile pe care le face. În serialul animat s-au făcut preziceri precum 11 septembrie 2001, victoria lui Obama și a lui Trump, chiar și discursul Gretei Thunberg, înainte cu 10 ani ca acesta să aibă loc. Iar acest video era pe internet și se presupunea că face o prezicere și la alegerile prezidențiale din 2016, când a câștigat Donald Trump.

Persons: Joe Biden, Mr . Burns, Charles Montgomery, Monty, Burns, Harry Shearer, Christopher Collins . Burns, Homer Simpson, Obama, Trump, albert Locations: Simpsons, The, SUA, Statele Unite, Springfield, simpsons

☆ Bob Newhart on His Secretly Sick Humor and Turning 90
▼ + stars: | 2019-09-04 | by ( Jason Zinoman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES — Bob Newhart didn’t invent stand-up comedy, but more than any performer he can lay claim to giving birth to the modern industry of the comedy special. His still-funny 1960 album, “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart,” was arguably the first blockbuster special, selling more than one million copies, hitting No. 1 on the charts and winning the Grammy for best album, beating out Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. The other day, there was a story about a pilot getting arrested for being drunk in the cockpit. Welcome to a flight from Los Angeles to, um, to, um, I have it written down here somewhere, it’s the mountains and then there’s some more mountains and then we’re on the other side of that.”

Persons: Bob Newhart, ”, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Krusty, Newhart Organizations: ANGELES Locations: Mississippi, Los Angeles, Delta

☆ How Rupert Murdoch’s Empire of Influence Remade the World
▼ + stars: | 2019-04-03 | by ( Jonathan Mahler | Jim Rutenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +61 min

Murdoch family, 1987: Lachlan, James, Anna and Rupert. The second season of HBO’s “Succession,” whose fictional media family, the Roys, bears a striking resemblance to the Murdochs, airs this summer. ‘A press dictatorship’To understand how the Murdoch empire works, it is essential to return to its origins. The bigger Murdoch’s empire became, the more power he had to clear away obstacles to further its expansion. Like his father, Lachlan considered the idea of meddling with such an important profit driver a form of madness.

Persons: ‘, Rupert Murdoch, Murdoch, Jerry Hall, Lachlan’s, Lachlan, —, Hall, President Trump, Theresa May, Robert A, consummating, Rupert, Elisabeth, Anna, James, David Graves, Rex, Prudence, Murdoch’s, Patricia Booker, Anna Mann, jockeying, Murdoch didn’t, ” Murdoch, Ron Galella, ‘ I’ve, Graham, Jeff Bezos, William R, Hearst, George Hearst, Ochs, Sulzberger, Arnold Newman, HBO’s, Australia —, “, don’t, Trump, Rutger Bregman, Tucker Carlson, Carlson, — Murdoch, Dow Jones, Bancroft, ’, Keith Murdoch, Keith, Joseph Lyons, Tom Roberts’s, ” Lyons, ”, I’ll, ” Rupert Murdoch, Aubrey Hart, Roberts, ” Keith, Margaret Thatcher’s, Thatcher, revel, John Major, Neil Kinnock, Joseph Stalin, Britain’s, Roy Cohn —, Joseph McCarthy, Ronald Reagan’s, Roger Stone Jr, Murdoch weaponize, Reagan’s, Stone, Reagan, George H.W, Bush, L.A, Ted Turner, Roger Ailes, Nixon, George H.W . Bush, Time Warner, Rudolph W, Giuliani, Post —, Fox, Monica Lewinsky, ” David Frum, George W, Sumner, Peter Mathew, Fairfax, Chase Carey, Talib Kweli, Rawkus, Kathryn Hufschmid, Kathryn, ” Lachlan, Sarah O’Hare, Lachlan doesn’t, Chris Mitchell, — he’d, Wendi Murdoch, Wendi, Jules Stein, Leonardo DiCaprio, James warily, Ivanka Trump, Ivanka’s, Jared Kushner, Kushner, Ivanka, Wendi’s, Donald Trump, Ailes, Rudolph Giuliani’s, Corey Lewandowski, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Bret Baier’s, Baier, Stephen F, Hayes, ” Trump, Tell Hayes, Sean Hannity, Sinclair —, Doug Mills, Megyn Kelly, — “ You’ve, — Trump, Kelly, Charles Krauthammer, John Kasich, James’s, Hillary Clinton, Tony Blair, Hillary, Clinton, United States —, Paul Gigot, Obama, Al Drago, Anthony Hilton, Hilton, Rodrigo Duterte, Viktor Orban, europhiles, Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson, David Cameron, feckless, Leveson, Robinson, Mick Jagger, Margaret Thatcher, Nigel Farage, Evgeny Lebedev, Carlo Allegri, Murdoch lounging, What’s, lodestar, David Rhodes, Rhodes, Ben Rhodes, Kevin Hagen, he’d, Trump’s, Jeff Rovin, Satan, James Murdoch, Clint Spaulding, Patrick McMullan, James Stavridis Organizations: Northern, Fox News Channel, Sun, European Union —, Downing, Walt Disney Company, Century Fox, Disney, Getty, News Corp, Trust, Washington Post, Hearst Corporation, United, The New York Times, Arnold Newman Properties, Fox, White, Broadway, Fox News, Trump White, Street, Melbourne Herald, Weekly Times, ”, Eugenics Society of Victoria, Oxford, Murdoch, Fleet, The, British government’s, Sky Television, Britain’s “, Labor, Trump, Gov, Reagan’s, New, New York Post, The Boston Herald, CNN, Time, Republican, Post, Pew, Republicans, CBS, Viacom, British Sky Broadcasting, Australia spearfishing, Harvard, The Harvard, Rawkus Records, Princeton, Kawasaki, Hollywood, New York Observer, York mayoral, Fox & Friends, Trump International Golf Club, Gateway, America, New York Times, Clinton Climate Initiative, Labor Party centrist, Pacific Partnership, Tea Party, European Union, Freedom Party, Nazi, London, Press Association, Associated Press, Brexit Times, United Nations, Reuters, Photographers, CBS News, Democrat Locations: Macedonia, Southern, San Francisco, Los Angeles, California, United States, Britain, London, Australia, Australian, Sydney, Lachlan, Davos, New York, Dutch, Iraq, British, Gallipoli, Adelaide, White Australia, Luxembourg, York, George H.W ., Midtown Manhattan, Manhattan, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Indonesia, Oregon, Fiji, Murdoch, Cavan, Beverly Hills, L.A, Caribbean, earshot, West Palm, Des Moines, Iowa, Ohio, Clinton, Trump, Downing, Brussels, Europe, Philippines, Manila, Bangkok, Cannes, “, Trump’s, Scotland, Aberdeen, Ailes’s, Russian

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