A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
A Warner Bros. Discovery release, “One Battle [After Another]” was the leading contender going into the evening with nine total nominations. It won the most too; along with best motion picture – musical or comedy, the eerily contemporary action satire won the supporting actress prize for Teyana Taylor and scored trophies for both screenplay and director for filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson.
Best Supporting Female Actor – Motion Picture winner Teyana Taylor is so grateful for her win for “One Battle After Another.” She discusses her character being a collaboration between herself and Paul Thomas Anderson, how she was approached for the role, and the moment she knew the project was a "yes."
Congratulations to Taylor for her surprising win — the prognosticators at Gold Derby had her in second behind Amy Madigan — and to Paul Thomas Anderson for his more expected wins for Best Director and Best Screenplay along with the producers for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
I'm returning to the press release for the next winner I'm recognizing today: "Neon’s 'The Secret Agent,' a shaggy dog historical thriller set in the nooks and crannies of Brazil’s mid-2[0]th century dictatorship, also won two prizes: best non-English language motion picture and best actor in a motion picture – drama, for star Wagner Moura." Watch as Wagner Moura Wins Best Male Actor – Motion Picture – Drama | 83rd Annual Golden Globes.
Wagner Moura accepts the Best Male Actor – Motion Picture – Drama award at the 83rd Annual Golden Globes.
Congratulations to Moura for winning Best Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama and to producers of The Secret Agent for winning Best Non-English Language Motion Picture. Gold Derby predicted both wins, although the latter contest was very close.
Those are the diverse acting winners at the Golden Globes. Follow over the jump for diverse acting winners at the Critics Choice Awards.
“One Battle After Another” won Best Picture, while “Frankenstein” and “Sinners” garnered the most wins in the film categories, with both films taking home four trophies each. “Frankenstein” won Best Supporting Actor for Jacob Elordi, Best Production Design for Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau, Best Costume Design for Kate Hawley, and Best Hair and Makeup for Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey. “Sinners” won Best Young Actor/Actress for Miles Caton, Best Original Screenplay for Ryan Coogler, Best Casting and Ensemble for Francine Maisler, and Best Score for Ludwig Göransson. In addition to Best Picture, “One Battle After Another” filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson took home trophies for both Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Noah Baumbach, Emily Mortimer – Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (A24)
Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Zach Cregger – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby (A24)
Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Gold Derby's prognosticators think this category is one of Sinners' best chances to win a Critics Choice Award, along with Best Young Actor or Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Score, all categories where it's first on the leaderboard.
When I wrote the above, the Gold Derby odds had One Battle After Another leading Best Casting and Ensemble. By the time of the ceremony, Sinners snuck into the lead as the choice of 62.5% of experts, 44.4% of editors, and 52.7% of users, passing One Battle After Another with the votes of 37.5% of experts, 55.6% of editors, and 44.4% of users, while Sinners still led Best Cinematography ahead of Train Dreams, so Gold Derby expected Sinners to win five awards. It earned four, so not bad, both for Sinners and for Gold Derby. Speaking of whom, I reproduced Gold Derby's predictions for Best Original Screenplay.
Ryan Coogler is the choice of every expert, 88.9% of editors, and 89.8% of users. The editors and users disagree on the rest, as 11.1% of editors picked Sorry, Baby, a shift from Marty Supreme on Friday, for but only 0.6% of users, ranking it fifth by Gold Derby's algorithm. The users rank Sentimental Value, Weapons, and Marty Supreme higher with 6.1%, 2.0%, and 1.0% selecting them, respectively. Just 0.4% are behind Jay Kelly.
Gold Derby was right about this category. Congratulations to Ryan Coogler! Unfortunately, Critics Choice only uploaded Miles Caton's acceptance speech; the acceptance speeches for Best Original Screenplay, Best Score, and Best Casting and Ensemble are not on the Critics Choice YouTube channel. As consolation, I'm embedding Ryan Coogler is honored with the Directors Award for "Sinners" at the Critics Choice Celebration of Black Cinema and Television.
Congratulations to Coogler, Caton, the rest of the cast, Francine Maisler, and Ludwig Göransson for their Critics Choice Awards! May they foreshadow many nominations at the Oscars and Saturn Awards!
Sinners accepts the Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement award at the 83rd Annual Golden Globes.
Congratulations to Sinners on winning and beating Avatar: Fire and Ash, Wicked: For Good, Zootopia 2, Weapons, KPop Demon Hunters, F1, and Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning, all movies I expect to see nominated at the Saturn Awards. If all of them earn nominations at the Academy Awards, I would be mildly and pleasantly surprised.
Unlike the Critics Choice Awards, the Golden Globes uploaded the videos for Best Score to its YouTube channel. That only partially makes up for the award being presented during a commercial break, so the people at home watching on CBS missed it. Hmph! That out of the way, watch as Ludwig Göransson Wins Best Score Motion Picture | 83rd Annual Golden Globes.
Ludwig Göransson accepts the Best Score Motion Picture award at the 83rd Annual Golden Globes.
On the one hand, CBS viewers didn't see this speech. On the other, it wasn't rushed because of time. I suppose that balanced out.
“Smokestack Twins” from Sinners (Original Motion Picture Score) | Music by Ludwig Göransson
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for the rest of the diverse winners at the Critics Choice and Golden Globe Awards tomorrow as the Sunday entertainment feature as I continue to celebrate MLK Day weekend.
Previous posts about the 2025 Critics Choice Awards
There’s an 18% chance that global warming exceeds four degrees by 2100 and that’s not a small risk when the stakes are civilization-ending.
In this episode of Weathered, host Maiya May talks with civilization collapse researcher Luke Kemp and strategic climate risk expert Laurie Laybourn about why high-end warming scenarios are often dismissed as “doomerism,” even though worst-case planning is standard in most fields. We break down how uncertainty in climate sensitivity and political derailment could push warming higher than expected and how climate shocks can trigger cascading failures across food systems, financial markets, and geopolitics. Understanding the climate endgame isn’t pessimism. It’s risk management.
Before I address the science, I'm making a meta comment about what I've seen on PBS YouTube channels and PBS and NPR websites since the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was defunded; public media has become more opposed, even antagnostic, to Donald "Hoover Harding Cleveland" Trump's policies since. If the authors of Project 2025 thought public media was biting the hand that fed them, they might be surprised at how much their hands are being bitten now that they're not feeding public media!
The Arctic was ice free and warm enough to host permanent forest cover across much of its extent. Iceland had a humid and subtropical climate...Dense, humid rainforests covered much of France, Switzerland, and northern Germany, while southern and central Spain were arid and contained open environments.
That's a very different world from today.
Speaking of today's world, the L.A.fires serve as an example where climate change is already causing disasters, which the current administration denies. Looking forward to the future, a possible collapse of the AMOC would be catastrophic and magnified by our economic system. Yikes!
You've probably heard the claim that there's a link between acetaminophen aka Tylenol and autism. And there are a lot of conflicting takes about what that claim means, which research is “right”, and what different studies really show. So here’s some of the major studies that are being talked about, their shortcomings, and what it means for all the pregnant and autistic people out there.
Hosted by: Savannah Geary
The study that RFK Jr. is citing and which Donald "Hoover Harding Cleveland" Trump is parroting while mispronouncing acetaminophen says yes, but the other studies Savannah Geary describes say no. In addition, Geary does a good job of summarizing the issues with both the existing research and any studies on the subject. It would definitely be unethical to run a randomized clinical trial, which relates to what I told one of my geology classes yesterday about the limits on the experimental method.* There are some hypotheses that just can't be tested using a controlled experiment; those would require the comparative method.
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for a more involved post tomorrow as I begin a four-day weekend for MLKDay.
*I was scheduled to give the same lecture to my other geology class today, but the college closed because of weather. Snowday!
In December 2024, 38 scientists teamed up to issue a warning about a potential upcoming global catastrophe. The cause? Mirror bacteria. No, these aren't bacteria with tiny goatees from an evil Star Trek universe, but if scientists ever do manage to make them, we might find ourselves living in a disaster movie.
Life made with molecules of reversed chirality reminds me of a science-fiction story I read 50 years ago, Doorways in the Sand by Roger Zelazny. The novel includes a life form that looks like a gem made of molecules that have the opposite chirality of those in Earth and a machine that reverses and inverts objects and organisms down to the molecular level. Those interact with each other and the protagonist in interesting ways, but the only biological threat I remember Zelazny discussing was the ill health effects to the protagonist, who sent himself through the machine. He realizes that he would have problems metabolizing the normal chirality nutrients in his food. Fortunately, that got resolved before it could seriously harm him.
Running normal bacteria through the machine to create mirror bacteria didn't come up. That would be the subject of a different story, the one that Hank Green is telling. Just the same, the possible creation of mirror bacteria and other mirror life is another demonstration that we live in science-fiction times, or as my friend Nebris says, SciFi is Now.
That's a wrap for today's post. Stay tuned for another brief evergreen entry tomorrow.
Since its 1983 debut in Florida as a casual sports bar, Hooters grew exponentially through the 1980's and 90's, growing to become a massive brand across the world with hundreds of restaurants, tens of thousands of employees and a very controversial brand name which created a whole new segment in the industry. However despite all of this success and notoriety, the chain has struggled recently, ultimately filing for bankruptcy in 2025. Join me today as we find out what happened.
Jake Williams added to the story Company Man Mike told with Hooters Air and Hooters Casino, both of which failed because of issues with the brand, which didn't appeal to women, families, and upscale travelers. In addition, Millennials grew up with a poor perception of the brand. Also, Jake made a bigger deal of private equity's role in the story, noting that the same private equity firm owned both Hooters and TGI Fridays. As Jake joked, that ended well — not.
Speaking of endings, I closed my reaction to Company Man Mike's video by writing, "As for Hooters' identity crisis, I wish the chain good luck; they'll need it." That seems to be Jake's take, too.
The “Battle Hymn of the Republic” is an iconic American song, drawing on lots of roots and precursors, but pulled into its most famous shape by abolitionist Julia Ward Howe. During the American Civil War it became a signature marching song for the Union Army, linked to patriotism and faith, and has since become part of the canon of American national music. We do not attempt or treat it lightly, but our version reflects on how the first week of 2026 has already seen Trump's troops advancing his domestic and foreign policy agendas. Every marching step is another step away from the principles and traditions embedded in the song: we have seen the transgression of international law in Venezuela, the murder of unarmed Americans in Minneapolis (and its defence by the administration), the US's withdrawal from multiple international organisations, and explicit threats issued to other sovereign powers and polities, including Greenland.
The song Billy Jean was a fictional narrative about a woman who makes false claims and goes from desirable to undesirable. Released in 1983, it was the second single from the fantastic album “Thriller” and became Jackson’s best selling solo single. Lots of his lyrics address paranoia and distrust, but it was the fit of the protagonist’s name in the chorus that really clinched an idea for us to take on this classic pop-disco track.
We’ve twisted the words around the story of Marjorie Taylor Greene, and how one of the vocal “Big Beasts” of Trump’s support base has now rancorously broken with him.
*Snork* MTG as a xenomorph. Just the same, may she be the first of many rats abandoning Hoover Harding Cleveland's sinking ship.
It’s been a while since we revisited a sea shanty – you may recall, mother doesn’t approve of these – but we’ve dug deep and repurposed “Drunken Sailor” to talk about the news this week of the BBC cocking up their edit of a speech on a Panorama programme over a year ago (making it appear more vehement than it was). As a consequence of this hitting the headlines in a targeted attack on the UK’s flagship broadcaster, which has been caught up in culture wars, post-truth, and its own self-generated problems, Donald Trump has now issued a threat of legal action. Obviously this is a model he’s used to good effect (for his purposes) in the USA, having taken on ABC, CNN, and CBS and won big settlements there and elsewhere.
The first recorded description of “Drunken Sailor” is from a Pacific Ocean whaling voyage in 1839 that departed from New London, Connecticut. So very appropriate for Trump’s latest giant lumbering trans-oceanic phishing foray.
So much has gone on since this was recorded that I'd forgotten about the story.
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for another brief evergreen entry tomorrow.
My friend from drum corps Kevin G. added the middle name on Bluesky. My response was "For the former record holder for dumbest U.S. president and also one of the most corrupt. Let's see how long it takes me to get used to the sound of Hoover Harding Cleveland." It took less than a week.
In the series categories, “Adolescence” was awarded four trophies including Best Limited Series, Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for Stephen Graham, Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for Owen Cooper, and Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for Erin Doherty. “The Pitt” and “The Studio” followed closely behind, with each winning three trophies overall.
Adolescence's competition for this Best Limited Series consists of All Her Fault and Death by Lightning with four nominations each, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy and Dope Thief with three nominations apiece, Dying for Sex and The Girlfriend tied at two nominations, Chief of War with just this one nomination. The prognosticators at Gold Derby heavily favor Adolescence with every editor and expert plus 98.0% of users picking it to win. All Her Fault is the choice of 0.8% of users, followed by Dying for Sex and Dope Thief tied at 0.6%, while the rest of the field has no user support at all! At least I can pencil in All Her Fault as an early favorite at next year's Emmy Awards.
Stephen Graham is very likely to give two more acceptance speeches tonight based on the Gold Derby odds. Adolescence leads for Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television as the top choice of every expert, 87.5% of editors, and 98.2% of users. The editors and users split on the runner-up, as 12.5% of editors but only 0.4% of users think The Beast in Me could upset Adolescence, while 1.0% of users anticipate All Her Fault as the dark horse. Black Mirror and Dying for Sex trail as the picks of 0.3% and 0.2% of users, while The Girlfriend has no support at all!
Emmy winner Stephen Graham leads the Gold Derby odds as the pick of 75% of experts, 80.0% of editors, and 93.6% of users. He's followed by Charlie Hunnam as the choice of the rest of the editors and 3.6% of users and Brian Tyree Henry with the votes of the rest of the experts and 1.0% of users. Matthew Rhys also has the support of 1.0% of users, while Michael Chernus is the choice of 0.6% of users and Michael Shannon only has 0.2% user support.
As I wrote above, Graham is likely to give a second acceptance speech tonight, as he is the choice of 94.7% of experts, 87.5% of editors, and 96.9% of users. The rest of the experts and editors, 5.3% and 12.5% respectively, plus 1.7% of users chose Charlie Hunnam. The rest of the field has less than one percent user support.
I'm skipping to supporting categories for now to repeat that "Emmy winner Owen Cooper is a prohibitive favorite as the choice of every expert and editor plus 96.0% of users." That rose to 96.9% of users by the ceremony, which turned out to be a smart move. Watch as Owen Cooper WINS Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for "Adolescence".
Cooper was better prepared than Graham, as he had a written speech, not that Graham really needed one. I hope he saved it, because, as I wrote yesterday, he's likely to give it again tonight.
Tillman is unlikely to repeat at the Golden Globes because this category combines supporting actors in all four formats, drama, comedy, limited series, and TV movie. Because of that, Gold Derby has him in second behind Owen Cooper, who won the Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television. Every editor and expert plus 91.0% of users have chosen Cooper, while Tillman took the votes of 7.5% of users. The rest of the nominees have less than one percent user support each.
For Supporting Actress in a Limited Series, I wrote, "Emmy winner Erin Doherty is also a prohibitive favorite with every expert and editor along with 95.8% of users voting for her." User support rose to 96.7% by the time of the ceremony. Those users were right. Watch as Erin Doherty WINS Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for "Adolescence".
Erin Doherty WINS Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for "Adolescence"
Again, Doherty will almost certainly give her acceptance speech tonight.
In the absence of LaNasa, this category is open to the winner in limited series, Erin Doherty, who 75.0% of editors, 62.5% of experts, and 50.1% of users expect will win. Gold Derby's losing choice for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the Critics Choice Award, Hannah Einbinder, who lost to Janelle James, like LaNasa also snubbed at the Golden Globes, is the hope of the remaining 25.0% of editors, 37.5% of experts, and 43.0% of users. We have a contest! Carrie Coon trails in third with 3.8% of users, followed by Parker Posey with 1.8%, while Catherine O'Hara and Aimee Lou Wood have less than one percent each.
Congratulations to the cast, crew, and producers of Adolescence and good luck tonight!
Follow over the jump for two more Critics Choice Award winners and the odds of one of them winning a Golden Globe tonight.
Emmy winner The Pitt returned this week in between winning three Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes, where the series has two nominations. My wife and I watched the second season premiere last night and were just as impressed with it as we were with the first season. It helps that we are both Noah Wyle fans, but the rest of the cast was just as good as we remember and the writing and direction both maintained their quality. The series' awards chances look promising for the second season as well, but I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, I'm returning to 'Severance,' 'The Diplomat,' and 'The Pitt' tie with four nominations at the Critics Choice Awards to see how the predictions fared as well as looking forward to the Golden Globes. First, the Critics Choice Awards predictions for Drama Series.
Severance, The Diplomat, and The Pitt tie with four nominations. Task has three, followed by Andor, Paradise, and Pluribus with two each, and Alien: Earth with only the program nomination. Based on The Pitt beating Severance for Outstanding Drama Series at the Emmy Awards, The Pitt should be favored, and that's exactly what the Gold Derby odds show. Every editor and expert along with 84.7% of users expect The Pitt to win this category. That's followed by Pluribus with the support of 7.7% of users, Severance with 4.2% of users, Andor with 1.9% of users, and the rest with less than 0.4% support each.
Congratulations and good luck, as The Pitt is likely to earn the equivalent award at the Golden Globes, as the prognosticators at Gold Derby have it as their first choice. Every expert, two-thirds of editors, and 87.9% of users have chosen it to win Best Drama Series, followed by the remaining one-third of editors and 7.8% of users picking Pluribus to upset. I think it's more likely to win Best Science Fiction TV Series at the Saturn Awards, should it be nominated. Severance is the selection of 3.7% of users, followed by The White Lotus, The Diplomat, and Slow Horses with less than one percent user support each. This is despite The Pitt and Pluribus earning two nominations each, while The White Lotus has six and Severance four. As I've written before, electorates matter.
Time to examine Gold Derby's predictions for Best Actor in a Drama Series.
Noah Wyle won Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series at the Emmy Awards and Gold Derby thinks he'll repeat here, again with every editor and expert along with 92.4% of users predicting he'll walk off the stage with the trophy. Adam Scott sits in second with the support of 3.7% of users, followed by Diego Luna with 1.8% of users, and the rest of the field with less than one percent each.
Again, congratulations! Playing educated men of action works for Wyle, who is favored to win Best Actor in a Drama Series at the Golden Globes. Every editor, 87.5% of experts, and 94.0% of users expect he will win. The users and editors split on second, as 3.4% of users anticipate Adam Scott, while the remaining 12.5% of editors along with 1.0% of users designated Diego Luna as the likely winner, behind Mark Ruffalo with 1.2%. Only 0.4% of users are behind Gary Oldman, while no one has selected Sterling K. Brown.
I'm skipping to Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The Pitt's final Critics Choice Award.
Congratulations and sorry about the Golden Globes snub because they thought The White Lotus actresses had more star power.
That's it for The Pitt. Follow over the jump for the rest of the drama TV winners at the Critics Choice Awards and drama nominees at the Golden Globes.
Car brain is insidious, and it seeps into seemingly everything. Let's explore.
I watched this yesterday, then experienced car brain as I drove to work. A man in a Mercedes tailgated me, then gave the "come on" gesture. I sped up to get away from him, then briefly tapped my brakes to tell him to back off. Dude, I'm already driving five miles over the speed limit along a stretch of road that the police patrol. Do you want me to break the law more so you can, too? He then passed me and had to wait for someone else to turn right to get to his destination. Hurry up and wait.
CityNerd Ray reminded me of a video I watched in school more than 50 years ago, Goofy - Motor Mania.
A classic Goofy episode from the 50's!
In fact, from 1950. Car brain has been around that long.
That's the general situation. Follow over the jump for my personal update.
