CBS Lies about 01/06, Millennials/Gen Z Don't Drink Much, Rapper "Canceled" For Un-Canceling Country Star?, New Project From "The Office" Creator & Steve Carrell (The Five for 01/07/22)
Hey, welcome to The Five.
Normally, recommending products is outside of the scope of this publication.
However, I’m going to make an exception for this issue.
After trying both Apple and Android smart watches…I finally settled on the Garmin Instinct, the best smart watch I’ve ever owned, thanks to the incredible data the watch tracks (the stress meter has been invaluable), as well as the workout and outdoor functions, and it’s a heck of a workout tracker.
I use the GPS function to mark my route while hiking and hunting the back country, to make sure I can always find my way out.
Finally, I normally go a week without charging the battery, even with tracking daily workouts.
Keep in mind, this isn’t an affiliate link, and I don’t get a commission…just wanted to let you know the Garmin Instinct is on sale for $164 on Amazon right now (normally $300).
Overall, the readership of The Five tends to be pretty health conscious, active and outdoor oriented…so if you’re in the market for a fitness tracker/smart watch, the Instinct, especially at that price, is a heck of a deal.
Now, let’s get into Culture & Commentary.
[one]
For the most part, I tried to ignore the coverage of the January 6th riots yesterday, although I did find Vice President Harris’s comments comparing the riot to Pearl Harbor and 9/11 to be in incredibly poor taste. As I wrote about previously in coverage of the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, my uncle was presumed dead in the World Trade Center that day. In reality, he was running late and sitting in traffic blocks away when the first plane hit. Cell service (and some land line service) was down for most of the day, so we were left to assume the worst for several hours.
Over 3,000 Americans lost their lives on 9/11, some of them children at daycare in the Twin Towers who burned to death.
Over 7,000 died at Pearl Harbor, including young men and women who’s final moment on this earth including seeing their own burning flesh and inhaling sea water, trapped below decks as sinking ships resulted in hundreds of drowning deaths.
Comparing those two events to a riot that included a bunch of morons playing dress up and stealing a podium is…grotesque. There was one death from the violence (Ashley Babbit, who was shot by police), but in Chicago only one shooting death on a Wednesday would probably make headlines as good news, for being so far below the average.
If only the VP’s grotesque take was an outlier…
When I skimmed through a bit of the coverage, I found a bevy of headlines somewhere along the lines similar to the New York Times “A the Capital on Jan. 6, a Day of Rememberance and Division.”
Similarly, CBS News released this incredibly misleading infographic:
However, Fox News dug into the CBS Poll, and found that CBS was burying the lead, apparently because the more accurate results of the poll showed something far different than the above infographic:
While CBS acknowledged in its report that Americans "widely call it a protest that went too far," the liberal network significantly downplayed the bipartisan nature of that response.
For starters, "a protest that went too far" was the overwhelming favorite of the 2,046 Americans who were polled with 76% agreeing with that characterization of Jan. 6. The second most popular result was "trying to overturn the election and keep Donald Trump in power" with 63%. Both of those options were omitted in the graphic bolstered by CBS. Meanwhile, "an insurrection," which came at a distant third with 55% of Americans was kept in the graphic among the others which polled even less popular.
Among those who said Jan. 6 was "a protest that went too far," a whopping 80% were Republicans and 69% were Democrats. Those who described themselves as Trump voters felt that way even more so with 84% while 70% of Biden voters felt the same.
Notably, 80% of independents also described Jan. 6 as a "protest that went too far" while only 56% said it was "an insurrection."
So, everyone pretty much agrees?!
Riots.
Bad.
Always.
Almost everyone polled shared that opinion, and yet CBS brazenly ignored the data from their own poll and led with out-of-context info to make America look more divided.
The Capital riot was the rash action of a group of people who refused to deal with reality. It was a lie, and damaged our country.
Now, read that sentence again, and insert “The media coverage of” at the beginning, and it still works.
[two]
One of the unexpected benefits of the COVID lockdowns is that a growing number of Americans are questioning how much they lean on alcohol as a coping mecachanism.
Polls from Morning Consult and YouGov found that as many as 15% of Americans, or one in seven, took a break from alcohol in January 2021. According to Morning Consult, reasons for that lifestyle change include a desire to be healthier and reduce overall consumption.
Across the pond, about one-sixth of the United Kingdom is planning to take part in Dry January, Alcohol Change UK, the charity that founded Dry January, reported. 18% of adults who drink alcohol are planning to abstain next month.
A range of experts back the movement. Even just reducing the amount of alcohol consumed has significant benefits to a person's physical health and mental well-being. The New York Times reported that exercising "mindful drinking," or paying attention to why, when, and where a person is picking up a glass, can help curb excessive consumption.
Dry January speaks to the growth of a larger, "sober-curious" movement that is growing in popularity among young people. As Insider reported in November, non-alcoholic beverage sales surged 33% to $331 million last year, according to Nielsen.
Millennials and Gen Z actually drink less than Boomers and X’ers, which is good for health, not so good for the alcohol industry (particularly beer, which is dying due to Millennial/Gen Z disinterest).
So far, there’s no clear cause of this trend, and it may be two years too late…as an increase in deaths from liver related causes are expected as delayed casualties from the COVID lockdowns.
[three]
Can a celeb be “canceled” for “un-canceling?”
We’re about to find out.
Last year, country artist Morgan Wallen had the top selling album across all genres.
Despite the fact that the Tennessee native was dropped by his management, banned from awards shows and booted from CMT and 90% of country radio stations (the genre is still driven by broadcast radio/TV more than streaming).
Last February, Wallen was caught on a neighbor’s Ring doorbell camera using the N-word to refer to his Caucasian friend when the crew were returning from a 72 hour bender.
Wallen clearly has had issues with alcohol, which is evidenced by his previous arrests for drunk & disorderly conduct. But there’s a point of drunkenness where you can’t hold the person accountable for (most) specific actions when they sober up, with the exception being violence or harming others.
As an RA in college, I had to help administer a breathalyzer test to a dorm resident who blew a .18 BAC shortly after dropping his pants to his ankles and urinating (unwittingly mooning several people in the process, although it’s probably he had no idea anyone else was around due to his blood alcohol level).
After the incident, another RA filled out a report that included the detail that the drunken sophomore had referred to him as “a jackass.”
I pulled my fellow RA aside, and tried to reason with him that you can’t hold a guy that drunk to what he says, and it’s maybe better to just let him get in trouble for the objective stuff (in this case, drunken public urination and nudity) than to demand penance for a juvenile insult.
(Side note for just one reader: Yes, Matt, I am still making fun of Rob for this 16 years later).
I viewed the Morgan Wallen incident through a similar lens. The issue was that he was so hammered he wasn’t in his right mind…which is a problem, but not the problem the media was accusing him of.
Wallen, apparently a major hip hop fan, recently collaborated with Chicago rapper Lil Durk for the hit song “Broadway Girls.”
TMZ asked Durk about working with the controversial country artist, and Durk defended him:
“Nah, he ain’t no racist, that’s my boy. We had a long talk, he had his public situation. We ain’t behind closed doors. I’d vouch for him in a minute. He’s good. He ain’t canceled, I talked to him. When I say you ain’t canceled, you ain’t canceled.”
Now, there’s media buzz pushing to “cancel” Lil Durk for working with Wallen. In a conversation on the live audio app Clubhouse, Wallen said that he wanted to work with more rappers, including Moneybagg Yo and Kendrick Lamar, and Durk encouraged both artists to collaborate with Morgan.
I’m not much of a “mainstream” country fan (I lean much more heavily into the Americana/roots world in my listening habits), but Wallen is one of the few “radio artists” I find myself spinning regularly, due to his incredible storytelling in songs, and unique sounds.
Morgan Wallen screwed up, big time. It cost him a lot of money, and he went to rehab to face down his drinking demons. I think it’s safe to take his friendship and collaboration within the hip hop community as pretty bulletproof evidence he’s not a racist.
Which should be all good, and what we want from society. A person falls, gets back up and is better for it.
But Cancel Culture is a religion with no possible penance. This doesn’t just apply to Wallen, but to everyone.
If this were a year or two earlier, the social media Karens probably could have kept Wallen canceled, at least for awhile longer.
But the Lil Durk collaboration (and Durk’s indifference to the backlash) may just be a sign society is headed in a kinder, more forgiving direction.
[four]
After motorists in Virginia were stranded in a winter storm for 15 hours, it’s worth a quick review of essential winter vehicle emergency gear.
First-aid kit
Phone charger
Flashlight with extra batteries
Non-perishable food items, like protein bars (it's important to switch those out every few months)
A couple bottles of drinking water
Extra pet food, if applicable
Shovel or ice scraper
In 2015, I foolishly thought I could drive through a snowstorm, and slid off the icy roads in a ditch. I called AAA, who had no tow trucks for 24 hours. A call to 911 also yielded no help.
Thankfully, I kept all my deer hunting gear in my SUV, so I donned by warmest clothing and walked a few miles to a nearby hotel in below zero wind-chill, which took the better part of an hour. Had I not been adequately prepared, I might have wound up with frostbite.
The winter can kill. Please, please, take the time to plan ahead.
[five]
As always, let’s head into the weekend with a pop culture roundup:
Well, the Kardashian crew is back on TV via Hulu this year…with a new show titled The Kardashians. I’m begrudgingly acknowledging this because A). it’s a huge moment in pop culture and B). It’s a chance to drop a link for journalist Bari Weiss’ convo with Kim, who’s quickly earning my respect as a human rights advocate and future lawyer (can’t believe I just typed that sentence).
Well, that only took…12 years. One of my favorite books, The Devil in the White City, was originally set to make the leap to the big screen in 2010, with Leonardo DiCaprio playing the lead role, a hansom and cunning serial killer who built a “murder palace” during the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Now, the project is back, not as a movie this time, but as a limited series starring Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, John Wick). DiCaprio is stepping away as an actor on the project, but will produce. By the way, if you’re not convinced Reeves is the best person in Hollywood (an incredibly low bar, but he’s still great), the actor donated 70% of his salary from the first Matrix movie to leukemia research, after his younger sister battled the disease.
One of the few true “appointment viewing” shows on network TV, This is Us, returned this week for it’s final run, and creator Dan Fogelman has a pretty cool interview about landing the plane on such an iconic series. Seems like a good moment to name-drop the fact that actor Sterling K. Brown’s brother lives about 10 houses down from me.
Also worth noting that Mandy Moore, who started as also-ran teen pop artist trailing the success of Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears in the aughts, before finding success as an actor, got back to music last year.
Her latest album is a collaboration with Moore’s (real life) husband and Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith, who contributes vocals and guitar to the project.
One of the best surprise hits on Netflix, Space Force, returns for season 2. The workplace comedy from The Office creator Greg Daniels reunites him with Steve Carrell, who plays a general tasked to lead the new division of the military which is venturing into space (duh) and hilarity ensues. If you loved The Office, this one is worth a shot. Season 2 hits Netflix February 18th.
Peacemaker, a TV spinoff of director James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, follows a vigilante character who loves peace so much he doesn't care how many “men, women and children he has to kill” to attain it. Gunn's style somehow balances “I can't believe they did that” humor with moments of surprising heartbreak (The Suicide Squad somehow created genuine sympathy for a…giant, man eating Starfish from space). Early reviews are quite strong, citing the shows ability to deal with heavy topics before jumping back to humor and violence.
MUSIC NEWS: Luke Grimes, who portrays Casey Dutton on the mega-hit show Yellowstone, is working on his country music debut, and it’s not just a vanity project. Prior to being cast on the show, Grimes recorded a song for a movie called Outlaw Country, which never released.
Grimes is reportedly a big fan of artists like Ruston Kelly, Colter Wall and Paul Cauthren, the kind of roosty, raw sounds that are used on the show. It’s TBD whether Grimes can turn good taste in music into a good record of his own, but he’s at least he’s headed down an interesting road.
Until the next one,
-sth