OrchidNYC

the only president in the history of polling who began a term in office with approval as low a Trump's right now was ... Trump in 2017.

that's what CNN is gushing over. the second-worst start-of-term approval rating in history.

FYI NYT folks, this poll shows Donald Trump is running the second-least popular transition in the history of the question, beating only his own first extremely unpopular transition.

The New York Times is an echo chamber of sorts. Just like Twitter has become. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25...

Starbucks paid its new CEO, Brian Niccol, $96 million after four months of work last year. 94% came from stock awards, but he also got a $5M sign in bonus.
What could the profit margin possibly be for those darn awful, watered-down refresher drinks?

This matters. Not because I think Trump is capable of mercy or empathy towards these vulnerable groups. But because it is a public act of defiance.

Contrast that with all these other powerful people in this country signaling nothing but appeasement and obedience.

Musk Pours Cold Water on Trump-Backed Stargate AI Project The billionaire wrote on social media that the companies behind the project don’t have enough money to follow through on their pledges.

🤔
Trump stood alongside prominent tech executives at the White House to unveil a $500 billion artificial-intelligence infrastructure project. Hours later, Elon Musk publicly questioned whether the joint venture would ever get off the ground.
www.wsj.com/tech/musk-po...

Trump says he is open to Musk buying TikTok if Tesla CEO wants to do so U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was open to billionaire Elon Musk buying social media app TikTok if the Tesla CEO wanted to do so.

Estimates put TikTok's worth between $100-$150 billion with the algorithm.

Without the algorithm, est. $50 billion for US operations (very unlikely that China will allow a sale with the algorithm).

Is this Trump starting to taunt Elon Musk? Putting him in his place? www.reuters.com/technology/t...

Study sections are the review panels that allocate NIH research grants. They bring in experts from around the country and have to be scheduled many months in advance; they provide the funds that keep the nation's biomedical research going.

It's hard to overstate the disruption this causes.

All NIH study sections canceled indefinitely. This will halt science and devastate research budgets in universities.

Brazil fires consumed wilderness area larger than Italy in 2024 – report New report says more than 30m hectares burned, 79% more than in 2023, after country saw worst drought on record

Brazil fires consumed wilderness area larger than Italy in 2024 – report www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j... @theguardian.com @mapbiomas.bsky.social

Your annual reminder that Dr. King believed in guaranteed universal basic income that gave all people a dignified life, guaranteed housing for all, guaranteed access to a high quality education, and said that “no one should be forced to live in poverty while others live in luxury.”

Best post I've seen all day #Inauguration2025

If it looks like the nazi salute, moves like the nazi salute, sounds like the nazi salute, not once, but twice, it is just a thank you for making it happen gesture.

See how it's done? That's how things are going to be now.
He knows what he is doing. Of course he does.

No surprises in Trump's inaugural speech.
So far, significantly less dark than the Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon American carnage plot of Trumps inaugural in 2017.

This is a Susie Wiles, "ice maiden," common sense speech. #Inauguration2025
www.c-span.org/event/white-...

And that's best case scenario

So y'all gave him $300,000,000 for a party you can't come to, then gave him $70,000,000,000 for a coin you can't spend, because a carton of eggs cost $1 more than it used to.

Y'all are fucking idiots.

On David Lynch, this captures it all perfectly.

I owe so much of my growth and expansion to his vision and what he showed us about the world. Beyond his films, it was the validation of his pure joy of life and his compassion for humanity.
I always joked that I never wanted to see this day come.

Producers Guild Awards Movie, TV Nominations: ‘Anora,’ ‘Conclave,’ ‘September 5,’ ‘Emilia Pérez,’ ‘The Substance,’ ‘Wicked’ Up for Top Film Prize Other nominees for the guild's Daryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures include 'The Brutalist,' 'A Complete Unknown,' 'Dune: Part Two' and 'A Real Pain.'

The Producers Guild of America 2025 Awards nominations (FILM):

Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown, Conclave
Dune: Part 2
Emilia Pérez
A Real Pain
September 5
The Substance
Wicked
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...

The irony...

The Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the poorest countries in the world with a GDP per capita of less than USD$1,000 p/y is also the world's richest country in terms of natural resources. Most of its minerals are untapped and worth over $24 trillion.

Data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows that Greenland has the 8th largest reserves of rare earths in the world, 1.5 million tonnes. This is similar to the known reserves of the United States (1.8 MT)
www.reuters.com/markets/comm....

2025 Writers Guild Awards Nominees The Writers Guild Awards honor outstanding writing in film, television, streaming, news, radio, and promotional categories.

2025 Writers Guild Awards Nominees

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
A Real Pain
Anora
Challengers
Civil War
My Old Ass

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part 2
Hit Man
Nickel Boys
Wicked
awards.wga.org/awards/nomin...

Nickel Boys Only In Theaters December. Get Tickets Nickel Boys Only In Theaters December. Get Tickets

If NICKEL BOYS is not in your top 10 films of the year, in the top 2 even, you can't be serious about film 😒

Can you just imagine if this film didn't get Oscar nominations for Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay?
www.amazon.com/salp/nickelb...

Red No. 3 finally banned by the FDA for use in food, beverages and drugs... Finally as in three decades after the dye was first found to cause cancer in laboratory rats.

Had to confirm and reconfirm this but not yet falling for Trump posting a video of Jeffrey Sachs refering to Netanyahu as a "deep, dark son of a bi**".

We'll have to wait to see more.

Folks shedding skin:

Tulsi, who introduced legislation to curtail foreign surveillance programs, now says they're "crucial"

RFK Jr, who proclaimed no vaccine is safe/effective, now says he's "all for it"

Hegseth, prev. against women in combat, now says women are “some of our greatest warriors.”

Should be worded as a prediction

Oh...

"RFK Jr had said his career as founder, chairman, and general counsel of the nonprofit Children’s Health Defense was “unpaid”

Then he disclosed making $731K in 2022, $515K in 2023, $215K in 2024. And now he's amended forms to show he made $1.2 million from his anti-vaccine nonprofit" D Beast

5 days before Trump's 2nd term begins:
Vivek MIA after the HB1 visa derail.
RFK Jr is where one should have expected. Deflated.
JD Vance is akin to if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around...
Meanwhile, are Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg sitting together at the inauguration?

This was interesting and very good. Also easy and quick.

Had ready-made Farró. Just cooked the chicken, the pesto was also ready-made but pretty fresh.
The chicken is seasoned with s&p and Italian spices. Added tomatoes, red peppers, honey.
Served w pesto sauce, Feta, roasted almonds. That's it.

😳 Just got this in the mail.

The first portrait of the Trump inauguration. The work is titled "Two's a Crowd" by Barry Blitt.