The Democratic Party Isn't as Left-Wing as You Think

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's not-quite-official campaign for president is driven, he says, by a simple proposition: Donald Trump is too extreme, but Democrats have become too extreme in their own way. Elizabeth Warren's wealth tax, according to Schultz, is "ridiculous," while Medicare for all, endorsed by Warren and fellow Democratic 2020 candidate Kamala Harris, is "unaffordable."

Though Schultz's remarks have gotten a lot of attention, he's hardly the first to make this kind of critique. Democrat Jerry Brown, who just ended his tenure as governor of California, said in December his own party was in danger of going too far left and supporting policies that are "harebrained schemes." Before the midterms, former Democratic president Jimmy Carter, who said he's voted for Bernie Sanders, cautioned Democrats they needed to appeal to independent voters to beat Trump. Mike Bloomberg, like Schultz a billionaire who may run for president as a centrist, said Warren's tax is probably unconstitutional. Conservative columnists in CNN and the Washington Examiner have offered Democrats the helpful advice that they are going too far left, citing policies endorsed by Warren, Harris, and living meme Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. These are easy criticisms to make, but they reduce the Democratic Party to a caricature that ignores the party's still powerful moderate wing.

The Democrats' transformation into a truly left-wing party is an easy story to tell, and there's some evidence for that story. Medicare for all—the idea that the government should be the provider of health insurance to all Americans—has gone from a relatively fringe position to one most potential 2020 contenders embrace. Some Democrats, like Ocasio-Cortez, are now calling for a "Green New Deal" that would guarantee government-funded jobs for everyone while transitioning the US economy away from heavy carbon emissions. Lots of prominent political figures are now willing to use left-wing rhetoric that would have sounded hopelessly utopian just a few years ago; some left-leaning young people are even comfortable calling themselves socialists. And this message gets amplified because many of these young leftists are, like Ocasio-Cortez, smart and funny on social media. If viral tweets won elections, private property would already be a thing of the past.

This story of the Democrats' journey left is an attractive narrative for lots of different groups. Progressives like it because it shows that they've tugged the Democrats from being a truly centrist party in the 90s to one that's reflective of left-wing values—and they think a progressive party has a better chance of beating Trump anyway. Conservatives also like this story because it lets them paint Democrats as extremists. For the media, the rise of left-wing politicians is a new phenomenon to be reported on and debated (and debated, and debated, and debated).

And it's true that the top-tier declared 2020 candidates are all progressives. Warren's entire career has been about fighting economic inequality, Harris has controversially stuck to her guns on Medicare for all, and Kirsten Gillibrand is possibly the most outspokenly feminist candidate of the cycle, having attracted a lot of attention for criticizing her fellow Democrat Al Franken when he was accused of sexual harassment. But all of them have obvious moderate streaks as well. Harris is running on her career as a prosecutor, to the anger of many on the left; Warren, unlike avowed socialists, has praise for capitalism, just not "capitalism without rules"; and when Gillibrand was asked on liberal podcast Pod Save America about ending the filibuster in the Senate—a necessary part of enacting any progressive agenda after 2020—she demurred:

The latest polling from Gallup shows that more Democrats than ever identify as "liberal"—but that works out to only 51 percent of the party, compared to the 34 percent who think of themselves as moderates and 13 percent who are conservatives. And though no doubt some Democrats are confused about what those words mean, the midterms showed that the moderate wing of the party is alive and well. Ocasio-Cortez got a lot of attention partly because it's so rare that a left-wing challenger unseats an incumbent—most of AOC's fellow leftists didn't fare as well in Democratic primaries, and Dan Lipinski, maybe the most conservative Democrat in Congress, held off his own primary challenge.

Digging into the Democrats' wave of victories in House elections last year, it's very difficult to sort out a cohesive narrative. Arguably, the center of the party has shifted to the left when it comes to issues like healthcare and the minimum wage, but a lot of non-radical Democrats got elected alongside lefty standard-bearers like Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib.

This week, in a piece about the place of centrists in the 2020 race, the New York Times noted a Pew survey finding that 53 percent of Democratic-leaning voters wanted the party to move in a more moderate direction. The Times also quoted a Bloomberg adviser who thinks that "there is a clear and sufficiently wide lane for a pragmatic candidate, and that the progressive lane is really crowded.”

There are a few political heavyweights who could fill that lane. There's former Texas Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke, who refuses to label himself a "progressive" and has been criticized for not supporting a left-wing agenda. There's former Vice President Joe Biden, who has positioned himself as the grown-up in the room who will work with Republicans. There's also Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, a dark horse potential 2020 contender who was recently praised by conservative columnist George Will. (Other moderates who may run include Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Bloomberg himself.)

---

---

There are an uncountable number of pressures and counter-pressures being exerted on the Democratic Party, with progressives advancing leftist policy goals, centrists trying to push back in the name of pragmatism or moderation, and many ordinary voters perhaps unsure of what specifically they want to see. This has left a jumble of polling results, such as surveys where support for Medicare for all swings wildly depending on what arguments for and against the policy you offer respondents. For more evidence voters don't quite know what they want, check out this January poll of New Hampshire voters where many of them have Biden and Sanders as their top two choices, even though those potential candidates are probably the furthest apart on policy. The only thing that duo has in common is that both are old white men, and that can't be what Democrats want... right?

Left-wingers like Ocasio-Cortez have attracted so much attention because they're a new phenomenon. But the average Democrat, if such a thing exists, is probably well to the right of AOC. While the Republican Party has become more solidly conservative over the years, the Democratic Party hasn't undergone an equivalent shift—at least not yet—and remains a messy coalition of people with a lot of different left-of-center views and priorities. The character of the party for the next several years will depend in large part on who it nominates to go up against Trump in 2020, and judging by the polls, that person could very well be Joe Biden. The Democratic Party may be transforming, but it's too early to say into what.

Follow Harry Cheadle on Twitter.

from VICE http://bit.ly/2D38mAA
via cheap web hosting

Nice One M8, 'Sex Education' Is Coming Back for Another Shag

When Sex Education premiered on Netflix this winter, it wasn’t clear what would set it apart from other popular shows about horny teens, like the British series Skins or the long-running Degrassi. No one was really clamoring to be reminded of their childhood intimacy issues, and recent shows that tried to revamp relatable high school content like MTV’s Awkward were too cringey for just-out-of-college viewers like myself to enjoy. But when 40 million households tuned into Sex Education in its first month, it was clear the show got something surprisingly right for fans of all ages—and on Friday, Netflix announced that season two is on its way, Deadline reports.

“[Creator] Laurie Nunn has captured the awkward teenage experience with a lot of heart and humor in Sex Education," Cindy Holland, Netflix's vice president of original content, said in a press release. "She’s created a universally relatable series that has resonated with our members around the world.”

The series centers on high schooler Otis Milburn (played by Asa Butterfield), who learns a lot about sex therapy from his therapist mother Jean Milburn (Gillian Anderson) and decides to start a sex consulting business at his school with help from his love interest, the no-fucks-given Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey). The show covers a wide range of issues teens face, whether they're having sex, want to have sex, or don’t feel ready. And its characters are gloriously diverse, giving people on all sides of the spectrum some shine.

But the reason the show strikes a chord with so many is because it handles high school sex with a certain care and seriousness, doing away with the tropes. As a recent episode of the New York Times podcast “Still Processing” laid out, Sex Education is one of the few shows since Sex and the City that actively treats sex like a topic to unpack instead of a scene to spice up an episode. Here's to hoping this isn't the last time it winds up getting renewed.

Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.

Follow Taylor Hosking on Twitter and Instagram .

from VICE http://bit.ly/2G6C0bS
via cheap web hosting

Government Workers Are Still Trying to Get Paid for the 2013 Shutdown

After the longest government shutdown in US history, and with the possibility of another one in two weeks if Congress can't agree on an immigration compromise, there’s a small silver lining for federal employees who were forced to work without pay: They might be able double the money they initially missed out on.

Multiple lawsuits claiming the government violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by not paying workers on time have been filed in the wake of the shutdown, and the lawyers in those cases and experts expect a legal slam dunk for the workers. After all, the exact same lawyers brought the exact same case after the 2013 shutdown and won.

Heidi Burakiewicz of the Washington, DC law firm Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman, and Fitch filed the only lawsuit against the government after the 2013 shutdown, which lasted 16 days. The case was the first of its kind and in 2017 a federal court ruled the government had violated the FLSA by not paying workers on time. Employees who had signed onto the case were entitled to additional back pay beyond the back pay they had already received.

But that court ruling hasn’t yet resulted in workers actually getting their promised money. Although federal employees did receive back pay within two weeks of the government reopening in 2013, the 25,000 or so workers who signed onto the suit are still waiting to receive their damage payments, said Burakiewicz, partly because the latest shutdown slowed the process down.

Sandy Parr, a prison nurse and kitchen foreman at the federal medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, signed onto the 2013 suit in the hope that it would set a precedent that the government could no longer force employees to work unpaid. Obviously, that precedent wasn’t set, and so she’s signed onto this current suit, while still waiting for her awarded damages from last time.

“Everybody was so unsure of how long this shutdown was gonna go,” Parr said. “We’ve never had a president of the United States stand on a podium and say, ‘I’ll keep the government shut down for months and even a year if I have to,’ like it was no big deal.”

---

---

Burakiewicz filed the first suit of this shutdown together with the American Federation of Government Employees. Considering this current suit makes the same claim as the one over the 2013 shutdown, she is confident the court will rule in the employees’ favor—and, hopefully, much sooner than the four years it took last time.

“This is no way to treat the federal workforce,” said Burakiewicz. “It’s a blatant violation. These people shouldn’t have to sue to get damages at all.”

Legal experts consulted by VICE agreed. “I am virtually certain that AFGE will win damages in this matter,” wrote Michael LeRoy, a professor at the University of Illinois College of Law, in an email. Judy Conti of the National Employment Law Project agreed: “The FLSA is crystal clear on payment of wages to hourly workers and there are no exceptions.”

Unlike your average class-action lawsuit, federal employees aren’t automatically granted damages if the court rules in their favor; each person has to sign onto the case individually, Burakiewicz explained. Thousands of people have already signed onto the suit, she said, and she encourages all affected workers to join the case on their website.

The AFGE isn’t the only group to file suit over this shutdown. The National Treasury Employees Union also filed a complaint under the FLSA, along with another suit claiming a violation of the Antideficiency Act. This shutdown has attracted a handful of other suits with a variety of legal arguments, including one claiming the 13th Amendment was violated because, the suit argues, forcing people to work without pay is slavery.

While it remains to be seen how many employees will sign onto these suits, the shutdown clearly will continue to cost the government in damages and litigation costs. That’s on top of the broader damage done by the shutdown: The Congressional Budget Office now estimates the shutdown cost the US economy $11 billion, nearly a quarter of which is irrecoverable.

Hardest hit were the workers themselves, and with the prospect of another shutdown after three weeks, even getting double back pay is little comfort to many.

Parr, the prison nurse, said she worked 90 hours of overtime during this shutdown. As president of the local union, she helped start a food pantry for employees without the cash to feed their families. She called the extra hours a “necessary evil” considering how dangerous prison work can be when a team is understaffed, but not knowing when people would get paid was scary.
And though the government is open for now, uncertainty remains.

Randy Sumner works as a counselor at the federal correctional institution in Jessup, Georgia. The shorter shutdown in 2013 wasn’t too painful, but during this shutdown Sumner had to dip into his savings. If paychecks freeze again in two weeks, he’ll start to run out of money.

“I really hope that they can come together and come up with an agreement that both sides are happy with so we don’t have to do this again,” Sumner said. “It’s not fun being used as a pawn between mom and daddy.”

Will Greenberg is a journalist in New York. See his writing in places like Mother Jones, the Washington Post, and In These Times.

from VICE http://bit.ly/2So9KXW
via cheap web hosting

Watch This Guy Allegedly Fake a Fall for Insurance Money and Fail Miserably

Lying is bad and we should all treat one another with honesty and respect or whatever, but every now and then, someone crafts such a bold and complex lie that you can't help but step back and appreciate it. There was the time Anna Delvey scammed her way through NYC, the monumental shitshow that was Fyre Festival, and that incredible Tinder con, to name a few of the most glorious scams in recent memory. This guy's alleged attempt at faking a workplace injury, though, is not one of them.

This week, New Jersey authorities released security footage that they say shows a man purposefully slipping on ice for the insurance claim, and, well—he probably could've tried a little harder.

The man, 57-year-old Alexander Goldinsky, was working as a subcontractor at a Woodbridge company last fall when he supposedly took a nasty spill after slipping on some spilled ice from a soda fountain, My Central Jersey reports. But in the security footage, he seems to fragrantly toss the ice cubes on the ground himself before summoning the courage to step on the ice and—gently, slowly—collapse to the floor.

Unfortunately, the pratfall leaves a lot to be desired. Just watch:

According to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, Goldinsky was treated at the hospital after the fall and eventually filed an insurance claim for the injury. He was arrested January 15 and is now facing fraud charges.

"The investigation revealed that Goldinsky purposely threw the ice on the floor in the cafeteria at his workplace, placed himself on the ground, and waited until he was discovered," authorities said in a statement.

All official charges aside, the guy should be ashamed if this is really his best attempt at faking a slip-and-fall injury. There's no big slip, no terrible mid-air twist, no wild, flailing tumble ending in a nasty landing. All he does is awkwardly shuffle his way to the ground with one hand on the counter to steady himself. Is that it? Is that really all you've got? Come on.

Sure, we can't all be Chevy Chase, but let's be real here—if you're going to take a dive, at least make it spectacular. Have some pride in your work, man.

Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.

from VICE http://bit.ly/2UsQFBo
via cheap web hosting

Can Someone Please Explain What MTV's 'Game of Clones' Is?

Dating can be exhausting.

Relationships, as the old adage goes, take work. They require patience and compromise and understanding. Their foundation is built on mutual trust. What is love, really, other than giving somebody your full attention?

Over the years, MTV seems to have developed a rather specific definition of "attention." What better way to get to know someone, the network creatives told themselves in the mid 2000s, than to equip a woman with a blacklight and invite her into the bedroom of a would-be date, to see what stains this potential love interest might have on his mattress? Brilliant, they probably said. Room Raiders it is. But wait... what about a string of back-to-back blind dates that can end at anytime when someone decides to send their failed suitor back onto a nearby RV? Sensational. Put Next on 15 times a day, especially after the kids get out of school! Also... what about those people so desperate to be noticed, because they have never been before—hold it, what if we found a group of men and women so pathetically eager for affection that they'd date a woman named Tila Tequila, who's famous for her MySpace page? Fuck it. Debut A Shot at Love.

As the world increases in absurdity, so, evidently, must MTV dating-competition shows. At least, that is the only explanation I have, in 2019, for the recently announced Game of Clones, premiering February 21. According to a press release, it will feature "MTV's most eligible reality stars," who "are given the opportunity to date seven clones of their celebrity crush" and will be "forced to look beyond each identical face in hope of finding their perfect match."

Read that last sentence one more time.

Read it again.

I myself have read it close to 100 times, and I still have no fucking clue what it means. (Game of Clones is apparently already a show in the UK, and if the image on the top of this Guardian article is any indication of the featured "clones," they actually don't look all that much alike.) The trailer for the US version of Game of Clones, almost as nuanced and illuminating as the series name itself, features a sheep multiplying into more sheep. What the short clip lacks in subtlety, though, it makes up for with no discernible details whatsoever: Again, I have absolutely no idea what this show is about.

Does this, from later in the press release, provide any clarification?

"Through a series of compatibility tests, dates, and more, each clone strives to stand out from the rest during this radical dating experience."

Let's take a stab at it. From what I can gather, loosely, it's basically presenting this scenario: Say you're infatuated with Lindsay Lohan, but you don't live on a Greek party island and don't think, generally speaking, she's completely irresponsible. Well, through some likely over-the-top, escape-room-esque scenario, you'll be set up with somebody who vaguely resembles her—actually, seven people who vaguely resemble her—who don't live in Greece, and who presumably practice suitable self-discipline. Eventually, you will choose one to be your mate.

This could all probably be moderately more interesting—actually, way better—if it involved real clones and some sort of Ex Machina-like violence inevitably ensued, but that would be like expecting Room Raiders to entail people literally stealing everything from some stranger's dresser. One can dream.

This might be one of those programs, too, that requires you to be deeply knowledgable of the MTV universe to enjoy it in any capacity. Which, nearing 30 years old, I can't say that I am. How many of these cast members—who will all be revealing their celebrity crushes on-air, for anyone who cares—do you know?

• DJ Pauly D, Jersey Shore Family Vacation
• Kailyn Lowry, Teen Mom 2
• Cara Maria Sorbello, The Challenge: War of the Worlds
• Kam Williams, The Challenge: War of the Worlds
• Leroy Garrett, The Challenge: War of the Worlds
• Nicole Zanatta, The Challenge: Vendettas
• Derrick Henry, The Challenge: Final Reckoning

With the exception of DJ Pauly D, I'm not familiar with any of these fucking people.

What is clear, however, amid this wasteland of confusion, is that these network executives seem to have a knack for taking the names of preexisting material (War of the Worlds) and tacking them onto their own preexisting material (The Challenge). Which means that, if Game of Clones is emblematic of a larger trend, The Challenge: War of the Worlds probably has nothing to do with bros from Real World: Philadelphia fighting aliens in Newark, New Jersey. Oh, and another thing I can definitely be certain about: Pauly D really, really wants a girlfriend, and he's willing to frequently go on TV to find that special lady.

Now would be a good time, Pauly, if you're somehow reading this, for you to know that you do not need to search for love in front of the entire country. There are also dating apps, and bars, and people from your past. Sometimes you can even combine all three of those things: a date at a bar with an old high school fling you stumbled across on Bumble!

You can take her outside, after a night of laughter and surprise and revelry, your arm wrapped around her shoulder. And you can stand on the curb, with your hand outstretched—you can ask her, maybe, if she'd like to have a nightcap at your place. She responds, "Yes!" And you can say, finally, those words she's been dying to hear: The cab is here.

Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.

Follow Alex Norcia on Twitter.

from VICE http://bit.ly/2WCDhga
via cheap web hosting

Desiree Akhavan Doesn't Mind Being a Hollywood Outsider

This article originally appeared on VICE UK.

In 2018 the writer, actor, and director Desiree Akhavan had something of a bumper year. Following on from her 2014 feature film debut, Appropriate Behavior, she began the year by premiering her new film, The Miseducation of Cameron Post (about homosexual reversion camps for children) at Sundance film festival, taking home the top Grand Jury prize. Later that year, her brilliant comedy drama, The Bisexual, also starring Maxine Peake, launched in the UK to great acclaim.

Now she finally has a day off in 2019, ahead of the DVD/Blu-Ray release of The Miseducation of Cameron Post. So we figured we'd call her up and subject her to the VICE Interview.

VICE: What is your greatest fear?
Desiree Akhavan: Mediocrity.

You seem to have avoided that so far.
There's a certain point when you're creating anything when it's deeply mediocre and it's just the name of the game. To create something is to stick with it while it sucks and make your way through it. The process is full of facing your own fears because you see the worst version of the thing you're trying to make when you're making it. Nothing comes out perfect.

What would your specialist subject on Mastermind be?
This is really depressing and I’m facing my own stupidity here but it would be either the plots of Archie Comics from the 90s, which I remember every single one of the hundreds I have read, or celebrity gossip—like really banal, petty, stupid celebrity gossip.

Who is the worst celebrity you have ever met?
Oh, I could never answer that but I will say an anecdote about it. Recently, I was at an event and I was surrounded by Hollywood A-list actors and, like, one of them had seen The Bisexual. Everyone else had no idea what it was and weren't talking to me. Then I was introduced to this movie star and she said hello, having no idea who I was. The director who I was with was trying to talk me up, like, ‘Desiree won at Sundance this year,’ and, ‘her show The Bisexual is with Maxine Peake and it's really good.’ It was all really awkward because she just wasn't interested in meeting me at all; it was like my parents trying to talk me up to the admissions council at Harvard.

There was this really awkward pause and I just looked at her and said, ‘I was also the first girl in my school to get her period' and the joke fell so flat. It could not have landed worse. I don't know why I compulsively made a joke about my period but I have not felt as embarrassed or uncomfortable around a celebrity as that moment. I bombed. I once also deeply humiliated myself in front of Amy Poehler, who was clearly so uncomfortable around me and my level of—it wasn't even being sycophantic, it was aggressive—'you're the reason I make movies' kind of bullshit. I got very excited because I love, love, love everything she does.

Desiree Akhavan on the set of The Bisexual

What conspiracy theory do you believe, if any?
I think I do believe a couple. After seeing Room 237, the documentary about The Shining, there is like 10 percent of me that wonders if Kubrick staged the moon landings.

What's the closest you've come to death?
I have been hit by a car a couple of times. I wasn't seriously injured but it was terrifying. It triggers something in you when that happens. Also, one time when I talked back to my mother.

How long would you last in space?
Not long at all. I'm very high-maintenance. I don't even understand people camping, I honestly don't, it's nonsense. I also get very lonely.

What was your worst phase?
Being a teenager is just the worst. I didn't have any friends and I would mother people to get friends: like, bringing in cakes on people's birthdays and driving everyone everywhere. I just had no personality and mimicked everything that was around me. It was pathetic, absolutely pathetic.

Did it work in getting you new friends?
No, of course not. I had no friends but a lot of chores to do. People were like, 'oh that's just Desiree, she loves cleaning and making sandwiches.' I'd go to a sleepover and everyone's house would be spotless.

Desiree Akhavan

What is the best TV show ever made?
Ever? I don't know, but what comes to mind is 30 Rock. That show is brilliant. I'm always in the mood to watch it; it stands the test of time, and you can watch it 30 times over and still find something to laugh at. It's incredibly smart. It's pure comedy.

How often do you lie in interviews?
I honestly don't think I ever have. There's nothing to lie about; my life is so boring and also I really am uncomfortable lying. It eats away at me. I have nothing to lie about or show off about, also no sexy private life to hide.

If you were a wrestler or a boxer, what would your walk on music be?
"Heads Will Roll" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Desiree Akhavan on the set of 'The Miseducation'

How many times as an adult have you shit yourself?
Once. I had gone to Montana to location scout for The Miseducation of Cameron Post and I put diesel in the engine of the rental car and ruined the engine. I was in the middle of an interstate, about to miss my flight, waiting for AAA and completely stranded in the middle of nowhere. Also realizing that I had ruined the engine of a brand-new car. I was so freaked out. I don't think I did it to such a degree that it was a complete disaster but I did it a little bit, it was the Diet Coke of shitting myself. I only share this story to say that pursuing your dreams is ugly business. There is nothing elegant or dignified about making movies, you really have to get your hands and other parts of your body dirty. It is full of failure and embarrassment.

What would your parents have chosen as a profession for you?
I can actually ask my father right now, he's sitting with me.
Desiree’s dad: Just something that would have made you happy.
Desiree: That was really sweet, dad. Also, it's true, they have always been really supportive.

When did you last say no to something?
I just said no to a role, actually. It's hard to gauge when to say no to things, and I think especially with the modern day, 'millennial non-stop freelance working' mentality there's this attitude of everything that is offered you should just be like, 'take it, take it, take it.' No has become my word for the year. I'm becoming really cautious of what is going to drive you further into that to-do list hell.

Desiree Akhavan with Chloë Grace Moretz on the set of 'The Miseducation'

If you could experience death but be guaranteed to come back to life, would you do it?
No. Why? Why would you want to experience that? It sounds terrible. I don't want to experience death, thanks.

Do you have a five-year plan? Or set out goals and ambitions?
I'm not someone who sits down and obsesses over things like that but then also, how are you going to accomplish anything if you don't have an idea of what you aspire to? So I definitely have an idea of what I want to achieve. I realized recently that it's not a biological clock that ticks, it's that you realize your body is no longer going to be capable of having a child soon. That is now something I’m considering since I turned 34. Like, 'oh, this is something I need to make a decision about because my window is closing.' So, yes and no, I’m breezy but I have goals and I know what kind of work I want to move into but I’m also open to turning things on their head.

Is that a difficult balance to manage? You thinking about your body running out of time during a period when your career is rocketing?
It's not a balance at all right now because the focus is the work but it's on my mind and eating away at my heart and my brain. You chose your priorities everyday and so far they haven't taken me down the route of getting pregnant but it's something you think about. I have made it a priority for me to have a career on my own terms and that feels paramount at this stage. But it sucks, it 100 percent is shitty. It is what it is.

What piece of advice would you give you this time last year?
If you'd have asked me this a year earlier, I would have said something along the lines of: 'chillax and everything is going to work out'—and maybe that is the advice I need right now, but last year was so hard. A year ago, I was at Sundance and also in pre-production for The Bisexual, so I flew back and went straight into on that, which then went into post-production. I didn't have a day off for pretty much the whole year and it was really hard. So I guess I would be like... 'fucking brace yourself.'

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is released digitally, on DVD and Blu-Ray from Monday the 4th of February.

Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.

Follow Daniel Dylan Wray on Twitter.

from VICE http://bit.ly/2GgFYOD
via cheap web hosting

The New 'Hobbs & Shaw' Trailer Doesn't Make Any Goddamn Sense

Remember back in 2001, when Fast and the Furious was just a modest little Point Break ripoff about dudes who race cars and steal DVD players out of trucks? Oh, how innocent it all seems now. Over the past 20 years, the franchise has mutated into some kind of roided-out phantasmagoria where even the fundamental laws of physics bend to the will of Vin Diesel's glistening muscles.

On Friday, Universal dropped the new trailer for the upcoming Fast and the Furious spinoff, Hobbs & Shaw, and the thing makes absolutely no goddamn sense. But who cares? Look at those biceps! Look at those cars! Look at all that sweet, sweet ass-kicking!

The three-minute trailer opens with Idris Elba, who is apparently some kind of brilliant mad man who uses a variety of seemingly painful lasers to make his big, mean muscles even bigger and meaner. What does he do, you ask? What does he want? How much does that laser treatment hurt? Well, in case you didn't pick up on the fact that all these menacing camera angles mean he's the villain, he goes ahead and makes it very clear in the trailer, explicitly identifying himself as the "bad guy." Helpful!

Of course, Elba's character can only be stopped by two other strong men—namely, the titular duo of Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Shaw (Jason Statham). But wait, there's a twist! It turns out that Hobbs and Shaw don't get along at all, even though they both seemingly share an undying love of justice, a background in the spy trade, and being painfully ripped. Can this hilariously mismatched duo find a way to set aside their differences and work together towards a common goal? No spoilers, but: Yeah! Probably!

The rest of the trailer is two minutes of nonstop, brain-bleeding action. Cars go fast, buildings crumble, and Hobbs beats the shit out of some henchmen while plummeting down the side of a skyscraper. Also, Idris Elba's character has a flamethrower for some reason.

What does any of it mean? Does it mean anything at all? Does it matter? The whole thing is such an indecipherable stew of explosions and gunfights that it feels like it was scripted by a second-grader explaining the brawl he's acting out with some action figures. Could this film end with a glorious, LEGO Movie-style twist? Who cares. Just let it wash over you. It is glorious.

Hobbs & Shaw is set to hit theaters August 2. Until then, busy yourself trying to figure out what the hell this movie is about and why it was ever made.

Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.

from VICE http://bit.ly/2UAdymB
via cheap web hosting