The New Kennedy Center

Look, this isn't going to turn into a political blog. There are just some current events that are unavoidable, and I feel the need to write about their absurdity. And hopefully you'll find this entertaining.

My family and I have visited the Kennedy Center many times since I moved to the Washington DC area. It's a fantastic venue with multiple performing spaces and beautiful views of the Potomac River. I feel fancy and cultured and elegant whenever I go there. I love it and need to visit more often.

At the end of last week, President Trump announced that he named himself as the chair of the Kennedy Center since apparently he has nothing else to do with his time (presumably since Elon Musk is doing everything). Here is what you can expect from Trump in this position.

Sara Bareilles performed several shows at the Kennedy Center at the end of last year. She's not welcome back because she didn't write Trump a love song.

Renaming the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts. Robert Kennedy Jr. has done significantly more for Trump than John F. Kennedy ever did. Besides, it's still the Kennedy Center. No one will even notice the change

Shear Madness is a murder mystery comedy show set at a hair salon with audience participation which has been running for several decades. It's a fun show. Unfortunately, the gay character in the show is now out. Of the show.

The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual event where five performing artists are honored for their lifetime contribution to American culture. Don't expect a committee discussion this year. Trump is going to name the following individuals himself to receive this honor in 2025.

* Kid Rock - Obviously a big supporter of the president. 

* Lee Greenwood - He performed at both Trump inauguration ceremonies and they sell bibles together.
* Scott Baio - He's in charge of your days and your nights. Trump supporter.

* Donald Trump -  According to probably one person, The Apprentice is the biggest and most successful television show of all time. 

* Melania Trump - The fashion part of the performing arts has been underserved. She gets this honor simply for this hat.

Although Black History Month will still be celebrated at the Kennedy Center, it's going to have a new look featuring the work of Trump supporters Amber Rose, Kodak Black, and Kanye West. 

I'm changing the tone of this post for a minute. I started writing some ideas for this post shortly after Trump's Friday announcement. Since that time, Kanye West went on (another) rant with multiple antisemitic comments. And now, he's selling T-shirts with a swastika on them. Can we as a society be done with him? As in banning his songs from radio, SiriusXM, Spotify, etc.? He is a hateful person with a dangerous message. This isn't a one-time thing. This is how he really thinks and feels. If anyone deserves to be cancelled, it's him. I hope we never hear from him again.

Okay, I'm not getting back on track. I thought about including ideas like a new Elon Musk-version of The Sound of Music where the von Trapp family supports the nazis or the national symphony orchestra only playing YMCA, but that's enough for this post. Just another day in 2025.

Photo by Saul Loeb/AP

Two Movie Questions (Trivia Tuesday)

Welcome to a very special Trivia Tuesday where we try to learn more about you and your movie-watching history.

1. What is the worst movie you ever saw in the theater?

This question came up among my friends last night. While Johnny Mnemonic was mentioned at least once going around the table, for me, The Wizard is the worst movie I ever saw on the big screen.



According to IMDB, this is the plot: "a boy and his two friends run away from home and hitch cross country to compete in the ultimate video game championship." I remember it as a 90-minute to 2 hour Nintendo commercial starring Fred Savage that I had to pay for. I wonder if there were people that saw this film thinking that they were going to see the Ozzie Smith story!

2. What was the first R-rated movie you saw?



I saw Zapped! starring the wonderful combination of Scott Baio & Willie Aames when we had a free preview of HBO that somehow managed to last several years. I really wish that Baio and Aames would be in a movie together again. Couldn't they have had these two have a cameo in Hot Tub Time Machine? Anyway, Zapped! is about "a teenager science-nerd [who] gains telekinetic powers." Although I haven't seen this movie in many, many years, this teenager used this power to remove shirts and bras off of attractive women. A magical movie for an adolescent!

OK, your turn.