Look at that, it’s the day we kick ol’ Whohizface out of office and already we have good news spreading throughout the land! This ray of hope comes courtesy of America’s M.D., Dr. Anthony Fauci. Appearing on Meet the Press last Sunday, Dr. Fauci not only cleared up whatever miscommunication caused a surplus of doses of the vaccine to be withheld from US citizens, he said that two new vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca may be approved within a few weeks and not months as originally thought. They might even begin the process within the next week.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s foremost public health experts, said Sunday that the U.S. is “weeks away, not months away” from considering the approval of new coronavirus vaccines.

In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who will be staying on as President-elect Joe Biden’s chief science adviser, said he was optimistic that the vaccine candidates being made by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca can be fully evaluated soon.

“I would imagine within a period of a week or so, or at the most, a couple of weeks, they’re going to be getting their data together and showing it to the FDA,” Fauci said of the two pharmaceutical companies.

“They’re going to have to get their data and safety monitoring board to look at it to see if it is appropriate to start, you know, essentially putting the package together to get an emergency use authorization. But we’re weeks away, not months away, for sure.”

The Food and Drug Administration has already approved two vaccines, from Moderna and Pfizer, for emergency use. While both those approved vaccines, as well as the one being developed by AstraZeneca, require two shots spaced out weeks apart, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine needs only one.

[From NBC]

This is nothing short of fantastic news. Not only that there will probably be four vaccines available soon, but that a competent administration will be overseeing their dispersal. As the article stated, Dr. Fauci is staying on as President Biden’s chief science advisor and since this administration will actually listen to recommendations, we can expect to see some real progress. As an example: the doses that were held back by the Trump administration. Dr. Fauci is being generous by saying there was a ‘misunderstanding’ in what was recommended in distributing them. He said General Gustave Perna, Trump’s rollout guy, thought he was supposed to hold back doses to make sure everyone who got a first dose got a second. It’s possible, but even so, that miscommunication was probably the result of those in charge not listening or not reading the information given to them. But now the existing vaccines are being distributed properly and there’s back up on the way. We will finally get this ship back on course.

And not a minute too soon. As you know, we surpassed 400,000 deaths in this country yesterday. I can only speak for California, but our vaccine rollout has been an utter mess. I have no idea what is going on, nor does it seem does anyone one else. I don’t even know who to get mad at. It’s so bad I’ve gotten vaccine envy – no joke. I see people post their vaccine cards and I have to work to find joy for them. It’s easier when I see they live outside CA. I’m fine waiting for the last group in which I fall. But my parents have yet to get vaccinated, and my entire family has been trying to get them an appointment. It’s driving us all bonkers. I know it will sort itself out. I trust Dr. Fauci and our new administration. It feels so good to be able to see news like this and be comforted by it rather than thinking “I wonder how they will mess this up?”

Photo credit: Avalon and cottonbro from Pexels

Today is Day 2 of the Duchess of Sussex’s hearing for summary judgement for her lawsuit against the Mail/Mail on Sunday. Again, the crux of the lawsuit is a simple copyright issue: the Mail had no right to publish parts of Meghan’s handwritten letter to her father. The Mail has continued to smear Meghan at every turn, and they’ve used this lawsuit to go on a massive fishing expedition for more dirt and half-truths which they can then conflate and turn into more junk stories. Honestly, though, as soon as you guys start sending me links to witness statements and trial transcripts, I tap out. I realize that there’s a lot of royal-insider dirt and blind items in there, but I’m the same with all court cases in that I don’t care *that* much to play-act a keen lawyer.

There is one thing which seemingly came out of Day 1 of Meghan’s hearing: the fact that if the case goes to trial, several current and former Kensington Palace staffers will have to testify. Jason Knauf, Christian Jones and other KP staffers will have to talk about whether they “helped” Meghan write the letter to her father, or whether they simply advised her about writing it in a general sense. They would also open themselves up to cross-examination about who they leaked information to, etc. So… speaking of, many people are reading A LOT into the fact that Prince William’s private secretary is suddenly stepping down just hours after Day 1 of Meghan’s hearing.

The Duke of Cambridge is set to lose a second key aide in a year. Christian Jones, who replaced Simon Case as William’s private secretary last March after he was poached by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is leaving the royal household to join the private equity group Bridgepoint as a partner.

The 31-year-old, who was previously William and Kate’s communications secretary, will head up corporate affairs for the £18 billion company. It is understood he will remain an advisor to the royal couple, whom he is credited with protecting from the fallout from “Megxit”, helping them to maintain a visible presence throughout the coronavirus crisis.

A royal source said: “Whereas Simon was credited with making the Duke a statesman, Christian has really helped steer them through their public-facing roles during the pandemic. He’s helped them grow into confidence by gently pushing them out of their comfort zone.”

[From The Telegraph]

Jones is being embiggened as the person who steered William and Kate through their self-made “crisis” of… bullying Harry and Meghan out of the country, and Christian is credited with gently nuzzling these poor, delicate keen flowers to go out into the world and breath on people during the Covid Choo Choo Tour. Christian was also the very same person who got caught leaking all kind of anti-Sussex sh-t to Dan Wootton at the Sun through an intermediary. The intermediary? Christian’s partner/lover Callum Stephens. Christian told all of his keen secrets to his lover and Callum “sold” them to Dan Wootton, who ran them as Sun exclusives. Christian Jones is clearly compromised in a lot of different ways. Massively suspicious timing too, not just with Meghan’s hearing, but also… Charles just let go of his private secretary/PR guru as well.

So what *is* this all about? I would suspect that Christian Jones did more damage to his career with the Dan Wootton leaks and the simply horrendous advice to Will and Kate during the pandemic. The fact that he used his position as then-communications director at Kensington Palace to advise Meghan on her letter to her father (and leak the details to reporters) just seems kind of… normal, and not as scandalous as the other stuff. Also, it feels like Kensington Palace and Clarence House are doing some big housecleaning and possibly bringing in some new, fresh voices.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

A post shared by Randy Spelling (@randyspelling)

Randy Spelling, son of prolific producer Aaron Spelling, is choosing a life of obscurity. Randy tried his hand in Hollywood but after spiraling into addiction he went to rehab in 2006. He gained a new lease on life. Randy said in an interview with Page Six that when he left rehab he realized that if he stayed in Hollywood he would be dead. Randy also said that he had put so much pressure on himself to match his father’s legacy that he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his own life until a friend suggested he become a life coach. Whereas his sister, Tori, has been battling to stay relevant while racking up debts that she can’t pay, Randy seems to be satisfied with living a normal life in Oregon. Below are a few excerpts from Page Six:

So why did the son of one of the biggest names in Hollywood turn his back on Tinseltown? It all started in rehab following his father’s death in 2006.

“I was just trying to fill myself in any way I could and started filling myself with the wrong things and got caught up in addiction,” he explained. “So I went to rehab and after I thought, ‘Gosh, I have this second chance, who do I want to be? What makes me happy? What am I here for?’ And all these existential questions that I really set out on a path to answer.”

A friend suggested life coaching and Randy was intrigued.

“It was just, ‘Hey this sounds really interesting,’ so I did it and it was suggested I work with people and I started doing that and I realized, ‘I think I’m good at it,’ and it just propelled me to do more,” he said.

That decision has led to a 13-year career in the field working with clients from all walks of life.

“I’ve been on both sides of the coin from having everything to being very concerned, ‘How I am going to make this happen for my family?’ and I can tell you happiness doesn’t come from money,” he continued. “It can bring less stress and afford more choice but I work with people who have very little and CEOs and I can tell you happiness has nothing to do with money.”

[From Page Six]

I understand Randy. Randy’s father Aaron cast a long shadow on his children and they struggled under it. I was floored to learn that Aaron left most of his money to his wife and only left his children $800k each. I think it was his way of forcing them to figure their lives out on their own. Although Randy took a hard tumble after his father’s death, I believe that he has gotten himself back on track and is content. I love that he became a life coach after leaving Hollywood. The fact that he became what he needed is not unironic. Unfortunately, I do not think Tori will grow out of her overspending, running up debt phase. It almost seems like Tori married a man who enables her delusional lifestyle.

What struck me the most about Randy was when he said he would be dead if he stayed in Hollywood. I makes me wonder how toxic the Hollywood environment is. We have seen several people go off the deep end after growing up in Hollywood and failing to adjust into adulthood or having toxic parents that take advantage of them. So I am glad that Randy is living a normal-ish life but I wonder if there is any resentment toward his father for not leaving them a fair share of the inheritance? My thing is, I think what Aaron did to his children was cruel. He raised them up in a very lavish lifestyle, didn’t teach them the value of money nor give them the skills they would need to survive. Then when he died, he made his kids take care of themselves. Like who does that? I’d be hella mad, honestly. I checked out Randy’s site and he doesn’t list his prices for consultation but I am sure it’ll cost a pretty penny. It looks like Randy has found his bliss in spite of his circumstances. And as Randy said, “Money can give you comfort and better choices but it can’t buy you happiness.” Amen to that.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Today isn’t just Inauguration Day, it’s also the two-week anniversary of the Capitol siege. The night of the 6th, we were all worried about what would come next, what Donald Trump would do as his follow-up to inciting white supremacist terrorists to insurrection. Speaker Nancy Pelosi was worried too, which is why she took over like a g–damn boss. In the 24 hours that followed the insurrection, Speaker Pelosi got the resignations of the sergeant-in-arms and the chief of the Capitol Police; she called for Trump to be impeached again as a way to neuter him; she challenged Mike Pence to invoke the 25th amendment; she bitched out the Joint Chiefs and basically told them that if Trump incited another terrorist attack, she would see that they were all criminally charged. Pelosi’s political savvy is what got us through the past two weeks and she’s a huge reason why Trump was neutered and relatively powerless. And now she’s saying that Trump could be charged with murder:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump could be an accessory to murder after this month’s deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol. In an interview with MSNBC’s Joy Reid that aired Tuesday night, Pelosi repeatedly decried Trump’s role in inciting a violent insurrection on Jan. 6 that claimed the lives of five people, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer.

“Presidents’ words are important. They weigh a ton,” Pelosi said about Trump, who continuously stoked false claims of widespread election fraud on Twitter and encouraged supporters to march to the Capitol in a fiery speech given at a “Save America” rally not long before rioters stormed the building. “And they used his words to come here.”

The speaker went a step further and said that if it were proven that some members of Congress collaborated with members of the group that attacked the Capitol, they — as well as Trump — would be accessories to crimes committed during the insurrection. “And the crime, in some cases, was murder,” Pelosi said. “And this president is an accessory to that crime because he instigated that insurrection that caused those deaths and this destruction.”

While a number of officials, including District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine, have said they’re looking into the role Trump played in the riot, none have indicated so far that the president would be an accessory to the deaths that occurred as rioters tried to block the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win.

While most Republicans have declined to cross Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has said little to defend the president since the riots, took to the Senate floor on Tuesday to place blame squarely on Trump.

“The mob was fed lies,” McConnell said. “They were provoked by the president and other powerful people. And they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like. But we pressed on.”

[From Politico]

Treason Turtle Mitch can kiss my ass. HE was one of those people gleefully agitating for the Big Lie, encouraging Trump to file lawsuits and refusing to recognize Joe Biden’s victory. The Treason Turtle’s newfound sense of democracy is less about Mitch feeling like he or his part could face big consequences. It’s more about Mitch tossing Trump under the bus now that Mitch got what he wanted: tax cuts and judges. As for what Speaker Pelosi says… I mean, I agree. Trump is responsible in every sense – criminally, morally – for the insurrection. But so are a lot of other people.

I also agree with Pelosi that it would have been game-over for America if Trump had won/stolen a second term.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

My show obsessions over the holidays were Bridgerton and The Queen’s Gambit. Bridgerton was the fifth most streamed Netflix original in history and the Queen’s Gambit reinvigorated people’s desire to learn and play chess. Now there is a new wolf in town that is on trend to push Bridgerton from its top spot. Lupin is an import from France that stars hottie Omar Sy as Assande Diop, a con man set to avenge his father’s untimely death. Assande’s father was accused of stealing a priceless necklace that he did not take when Assande was young. Babakar, Assande’s father, committed suicide in prison. Now Assande has set his sites on stealing the very necklace his father was wrongfully convicted for. Lupin is a cross between Ocean’s Eleven and Sherlock Holmes and the stories have been around in France for over 100 years.

Lupin is the unexpected breakout show of the year and is set to be streamed by over 70 million households in its first 28 days. Despite being in French, it seems that Lupin has attracted not only French fans but many from around the world. Lupin is also the first foreign language series on Netflix to break into the Top 10 streamed shows in the U.S. Below is more about the show from The Guardian:

The show is slight – five episodes of about 43 minutes (with more to come this year) – and without much press in the US, yet a week after its release is the second most watched program on Netflix, and the streamer’s first French program to crack the top 10 in the American market. It’s currently the streamer’s most-watched global program and the company has now stated that it’s set to reach 70m households within the first month, which will make it bigger than both Bridgerton and The Queen’s Gambit.

It’s not hard to see why; Lupin combines the verve of Ocean’s Eleven with the thrilling implausibility and cultural lore of the first National Treasure. Where Nicolas Cage stole the Declaration of Independence, Assane begins the series with a similarly outlandish plan: steal Marie Antoinette’s necklace, lost for 25 years and slated for auction, from the Louvre. But Assane, it’s quickly revealed, is more cunning than anyone around him assumes; he’s a devout fan of Arsène Lupin, the quintessential French gentleman thief replete with a monocle and a top hat, who has fingered through a copy of his debonair escapades so many times the pages are worn. (Sy is a fan as well, and the series arose in part from the freedom afforded by his César award for The Intouchables and Hollywood career to select his dream role – “If I were British, I would have said James Bond, but since I’m French, I said Lupin,” he told the New York Times).

Between montages of his shockingly low-budget heist plan (which, ultimately, is a bit of a red herring; you’re not watching to see if he gets the necklace) the show peels back the layers of Assane’s motivation: 25 years earlier, his father Babakar (Fargass Assandé), an immigrant from Senegal hired as a chauffeur for a wealthy white Parisian family, was framed for stealing the necklace. He died by suicide in prison, leaving an orphaned Assane with a copy of the Lupin stories and a drive for vengeance.

Though a largely unfamiliar character to the US, and despite Americans’ general reluctance to watch with subtitles, Lupin’s success isn’t entirely unprecedented. Netflix automatically plays the dubbed English version, and Lupin follows in the footsteps of breakout global hits, such as Money Heist, far and away Netflix’s most popular global show viewed by 65m households when its fourth season dropped in April 2020 (though it’s worth noting that as of last year, Netflix counted a “view” as any account watching over two minutes of a program).

[From the Guardian]

I remember Omar from when he played Bishop in X-Men: Days of Future Past, Jurassic Park and Inferno (Da Vinci Code series). The man is striking. He is the real draw for me for watching Lupin. And I absolutely love spy craft and sophisticated heist movies and shows. They are just fun to watch. I am also excited that Lupin has a black lead not playing the usual role of thug or gang banger. Instead, Assande is brilliant and is able to pull off some amazing cons with a low budget.

Anyways, I am so excited for all the shows with diverse casting getting all of this streaming love. For me, Netflix is proving that BIPOC do sell overseas and people enjoy us being in stories, too. Lupin is definitely on my list of shows to watch. Maybe it’ll break me out of my Bridgerton loop. To be fair, I tried to watch Lupin last weekend because I love foreign shows and film but I want to be able to pay attention and I haven’t had the time to do that. I have to be in a particular place for subtitles. I even tried to watch the first episode of Lupin dubbed in English, but I felt like something was missing. So I have decided to watch it fully in French with English subtitles. Perhaps I can brush up on my high school French while watching. I also look forward to staring at Omar Sy for five episodes. I mean look, we have been cooped up for damn near a year, a sister needs her fantasies. Don’t judge me.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Omar Sy (@omarsyofficial)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Omar Sy (@omarsyofficial)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Omar Sy (@omarsyofficial)

Photos via Instagram as credited and credit: Emmanuel Guimier /Netflix

Reese Witherspoon’s family is expanding in the cutest way possible. Last October, Reese lost her beloved Pepper to cancer. In November, the family happily welcomed Minnie Pearl into their home:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Reese Witherspoon (@reesewitherspoon)

Look at that face! I love that her expression looks like, “Are we done here?” Sorry, Minnie – when you’re that cute, you’d best get used to having your photo taken. Understandably, Minnie quickly became a staple on Reese’s IG page, even posing with her nephew, Benji, who is Reese’s daughter Ava Phillippe’s rescue pup (photo below). Well, now Minnie will have a new face to share the lens with, her new brother Major. Reese shared the good news with her fans over the weekend that she’s welcomed a black Labrador puppy named Major:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Reese Witherspoon (@reesewitherspoon)

Oh my stars and garters, look at those two dogs! How do you get anything done in that house? I am not that familiar with French bulldogs as a breed, are they high energy? I know Labs are, dog rearing is likely a full-time job at the Witherspoon house currently. Despite the fact the Major probably already outweighs Minnie, I’m willing to bet Minnie rules that roost, she has that vibe. Also, how does Reese get these puppies to sit for photos so perfectly? I have hundreds of shots of mine mid-takeoff, even when I sneak up on them sleeping.

However, you may notice something familiar about Major: his name. Major, of course, is the name of one of President Biden’s dogs. Major, Champ and the First Cat will bring some much-needed pet energy back into the White House. Major is significant in that he will be the first rescue dog to ever live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. So significant that Major was given his own Indoguration. I know, it looks like this is favoritism but this Indoguration was sponsored by the Delaware Humane Society from which Major was adopted. It’s just letting other mixed breed dogs know that they don’t have to have a Pedigree upbringing to one day live at the White House – any dog can rise to the rank of First Dog in America. Champ rocks too!

As for Major Witherspoon, I think he’s the first in many Major pups to come. Folks are ready to honor this new sense of hope we are feeling in any way we can. I imagine with all the Kamalas, Harrises, Josephs, Jills and probably even Bidens we’ll hear at the people parks, we will hear more and more Majors and Champs at the dog parks as well. I’m all for it, those are great names – human and dog.

Photo credit: Instagram

I’m not sure this is Gwyneth Paltrow’s fault, necessarily, but the fact that one of her vagina-scented candles exploded in someone’s home is kind of funny – and people have been sending it around. Not the remnants of the candle, I mean the story. I really would love to know who spent their money on …

SpoilersSearch Party is a show that is constantly reinventing itself. In season one, it was a biting observational comedy about sh-tty Millennials, season two found the sh-tty Millennials starring in a crime drama, and season three lampooned legal dramas as the sh-tty Millennials were charged with o…

Some personal news: I’ve finished Bridgerton. There’s been so much good writing on it (including Sarah’s here) so I don’t have much to add to the discourse except that I find myself caring about three characters and three characters only: Marina, the Duke of Hastings, and Penelope Featherington. Am …

Jodie Turner-Smith and Joshua Jackson have been seen in New York a couple of times this week with their baby and her mother. He’s there shooting Dr Death, taking over the lead role in the series after Jamie Dornan dropped out over scheduling issues. And I think with Joshua as the title character, it…