Daily Archives: January 9, 2021

On Friday, Verzuz postponed the Ashanti and Keyshia Cole battle set to air tomorrow night, breaking the hearts of R&B fans for a second time. "This has been an emotional week," the VerzuzTV page posted on Instagram, citing Wednesday's insurrection at the Capitol. "In addition, as COVID-19 numbers continue to increase, safety is a top priority for us. As much as we enjoy having everyone together in the same room, to protect the artists and everyone who works with us in putting the shows together, we'll be going back to separate rooms for a bit." Certainly, none of us want to continue watching Verzuz on whatever shoddy internet connection Teddy Riley was using, but this response reads as if COVID's infection rates have not been increasing all along. It also makes one thing clear: Touring and live shows may have ceased, but the grandeur of celebrity keeps the haves and the have nots in completely separate worlds.

Swizz Beatz and Timbaland's pivot to Instagram Live battles in March didn't just redefine who gets to be considered a legacy artist, but it made celebrities look like humans. They were confined to their four walls too, and even if they were sheltering in place in mansions, they were trying to adjust to a new normal like the rest of us. In a matter of months, the series evolved from a camera-phone quality operation from remote locations to a more fleshed out production, via an Apple Music partnership. The show began uniting artists and entourages in relevant locations, like Bounty Killer and Beenie Man's show in Jamaica (the series' first in-person battle) and Gucci Mane and Jeezy's Magic City takeover in Atlanta. With Verzuz, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland did what hip-hop has historically done: turn a shitty situation into a (virtual) party. The series' success (with its viewership beating out 2020's MTV VMA ratings) is a direct reaction to COVID and quarantine, but as time has passed, it began to feel like Verzuz's in-person was largely ignoring the reason it began in the first placeuntil the series, and its participants, were forced to address the pandemic-sized elephant in the room.

In December, many prepared to time travel back to Y2K, breaking out our defunct two-way pagers to watch Ashanti and Keyshia Cole defend their titles as staples of R&B and hip-hop of the 2000s. But 2020 had other plans. "Hey yall I can't believe I'm saying this but I tested positive for COVID-19," Ashanti shared on Instagram. "I'm ok and not in any pain. I'm actually down to do the Verzuz from my house We're trying to figure it all out."

A look at Ashanti's Instagram page makes the unbelievable a lot more believable. In October, she celebrated her birthday in Antigua, and was vacationing in Nairobi when the Verzuz battle was announced. Days before her arrival, the CDC issued a travel notice naming Kenya a Level 4, the highest level, for COVID infections: "Travelers should avoid all travel to Kenya." According to the notice, all travelers should be tested after their trips and quarantine for one week upon return. On December 8, Ashanti posted Verzuz merch, tagging Nairobi as her location, which seemed odd given that she was set to be in the same room as Keyshia Cole days later. But the next day, Nairobi News, a local paper, documented her arrival to the country. "Ashanti's visit comes a few days before her most anticipated Verzuz battle with fellow RnB singer Keyshia Cole slated for Saturday, December 12, 2020," the paper wrote. If you're keeping up, you're right: It would be impossible for Ashanti to return to the states in time in order to quarantine 7 days before sitting in a room with Keyshia Cole and a production team. But the larger question is, why was it scheduled when she was abroad to begin with?

Verzuz has been the closest thing we've gotten to live music in nearly a year. The news of yet another postponement stings, but it goes to show that the virus can affect everyone. A new year didn't wash away the residue of how traumatic 2020 was, and experiencing an insurrection in the first week of 2021 didn't make it any easier. Watching celebrities charter private jets and private islands to retain a sense of normalcy while 140,000 jobs in the US were lost in December alone and D.C. is in shambles is a grave reminder that the privilege of money transcends turmoil.

Kristin Corry is a Senior Staff Writer at VICE.

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Verzuz's Virtual Return Shows Celebs Have Always Lived in Different Worlds - VICE

It catered to those that had more money than most of us could spend in a lifetime, any could view choices in buying a yacht, choosing mega-million-dollar homes, or even traveling to obscure or interesting countries around the world.

To say that the people running this channel were out of touch with the average human being is an overstatement, but one has to assume that there were enough to watch them to pay their bills. With programming such asBoys Toys, Dream Cruises, Private Islands, and Platinum Playgrounds,anyone with enough money could sit back and be entertained with shows that matched their lifestyle. As you might guess, AWE was founded by an eccentric insomniac millionaire, Robert Herring.

It didnt take long for his news junkie focus to become bored with AWE and so in 2013 he decided to change the channel to OAN (One America News). All you have to do is watch this channel to realize that the name is an oxymoron. What may have started with the idea of a real news broadcasting organization made an abrupt right turn as the dawn of the 2016 approached. From that point on, OAN became a kind of Trump tv, and it was done to compete with Fox. OAN quickly transitioned from middle of the road reporting to a channel that tried to find the most outrageous and bizarre conspiracy theories and lies that they could tell to woo Trump to their side. . .and it worked.

Its quite apparent that 80-year-old Robert Herring has long forgotten his middle-class roots. Although he began his professional career as a circuit board sales rep in Orange County, California, he made his millions by founding and then selling two circuit board companies of his own. If there is one thing that we can say about many salesmen (or women) its that they usually have their pitch ingrained in their souls.

Sales reps know that it is ALWAYS about the sale whether the product is good, bad, destructive, or just an outright lie. This is the philosophy that Herring lives by.

Herring is adept at seeing what sells and in news junkie format, he became obsessed with how MSNBCs Rachel Maddow and Foxs Bill OReilly were redesigning information by beating one or two topics to death.

In a Washington Post articleentitledAn inside look at One America News, the insurgent TV network taking pro-Trump to new heights

In 2013, the family created its second channel, One America News. Robert Herrings idea was to provide something that had gone missing from the cable news landscape a basic headline service covering national and international news. Herring, long an active donor to political campaigns, had no journalism experience.

The channel he created is a rapid-fire cavalcade of headlines. Most stories run well under a minute. Almost all of the reports are read by the anchors over video footage provided by the Reuters, Associated Press and Euronews services, as well as by RT, the Kremlin-funded news outlet that a U.S. intelligence report calls Russias state-run propaganda machine.

The OAN Con: Appeal to Trump and the Trump Cult

Herring may be noted as one of the first to recognize that Trump was broadcast gold. His bizarre, strange, ridiculous, sick and twisted presence may make a majority of us want to vomit, but there is no doubting that mainstream media saw him as a draw for the public. Herring made sure that OAN broadcast all of Trumps Hitler-esque rallies, even when other channels werent. They also constantly praised Trump and never criticized or made a negative word about him.

Just having conservative so-called news that mimicked other broadcasts wasnt enough. Herring knew that he had to get national recognition in the WH Press Briefings. To that extent he sent so-called reporters to attend, and the success was shown when they were moved from the back of the room closer to the front when one of them refused to comply with social distancing and later began praising Trumps claim for the potentially dangerous drug, hydroxycholorquine, as a COVID-19 cure. Herring knew that Trump is a narcissist and always rewards those that compliment and coo to his side. But not everything went the way of OAN, as even when Herring had a meeting with Trump at the White House, the channel received only a positive comment about their graphics.

It has taken almost 4 years for OAN to gain favor with Trump, and one may give credit to Fox as having finally had enough of Trump as they have started to actually report news that wasnt the brainwashing propaganda that Trump wanted them to tell. Looking for another source to soothe his ego, Trump began to field more questions from the OAN reporters and talk about the station in a more positive light.

Trying to make a state-run news organization like the ones that we saw in pre-WWII Germany and Italy is a difficult job. In anarticleby CJR:One America News was desperate for Trumps approval. Heres how it got it.

Charles Herring, OANs president and Robert Herrings son, says that the networks news shows are unbiased. Our news anchors are NOT allowed to express their opinion, he wrote to me in an email. They are presenters, and the STAR of the show is the news, not the talent. But to tune in is to enter a dizzying alternaverse in which the least credible of Republican talking points are taken as fact. On OAN, Trump is perennially the victim ofdeep-state scheming Democrats efforts to block a census citizenship question werea ployto hijack the Electoral College. And the Pentagon, by investigating atrocities committed under the American flag, is waging a war on warriors. Last December, OAN rana three-hour specialin which Rion and Rudy Giuliani collaborated to debunk the impeachment hoax. (Russian state television laterrebroadcastpart of the special.)

[Andrew McCormick, CJR writer] spoke with more than a dozen former and current employees of OAN, some on the condition of anonymity because they feared reprisal. A few had kind words for the network and for their coworkers, but collectively they described a circus, where ethics are absent, turnover is high, and dissent is met with rage. At the helm, they say, is Robert Herring, a wealthy businessman and kind of mini-Trump, whose near-singular focus seems to be supporting the president and his policies. [Herring] is the network, a former anchor told me. He is in control of absolutely everything he wants to be, and if someone doesnt like it theyre fired.

Robert Herring is a kind of enigma. While he is in lockstep with most of Trumps ideologies such as anti-immigration, racism, bigotry, and climate change denial, he also drives a Tesla, invests in stock and demands that there are no negative stories on the company. Other topics that are taboo include police brutality against Black Americans, specifically unarmed Black men. The channel may have started out with a desire to be a middle of the road reporting, but it has turned into whatever Herring wants.

OAN may be parroting whatever the right-wing Trump cult wants to hear, including some of the tin foil hat stuff from the likes of Breitbart, but they have competition. Quite some time ago I wrote anarticleentitled: Sinclair Conservative Broadcasting Set to Spread Propaganda to almost Half of American Homes

THIS SHOULD SCARE THE CRAP OUT OF YOU

This is information regarding the hundreds of local broadcasting stations that Sinclair has bought up around the country:

As newspapers shut down across the country they create what is known as information deserts and its in these areas that Sinclair has jumped in to buy up local television stations so that they can fill the gap with the kind of propaganda that one would only expect to see or hear in an authoritarian regime.

Under the guise of balanced reporting, Sinclair is manipulating what the average American sees and hears to match what THEY want you to believe.

If you still doubt, just take a look at thevideothat was exposed to show the kind of cut and paste content that they are sending out in the over 193 stations that they own; which is currently 39% of American households.

Image source: Funny or Die

The Continuation of Crazy without Trump

Now that Trump is becoming yesterdays news and everyone from the State of New York to Deutsche Bank and the country of Scotland are coming after him for his criminal activities, the question to be asked is: will there be anyone to buy the nut job reporting of right-wing media?

Rupert Murdoch knew that there was a market in the U.S. for those that would believe absolutely anything. He made his millions in the U.K. with tabloids that did this kind of lying and then founded Fox (not news) in the U.S. These are the same people that continue to buy our grocery store tabloids and watch shows like Honey Boo Boo and Duck Dynasty. Some have said that they arent the smartest tool in the shed and based on what we have seen in the last 5 years, I think a lot of us believe it.

As Fox has lost favor with Trump, we are seeing organizations such as OAN and now Newsmax add to the Sinclair Broadcasting efforts to accomplish the Orwelian mass brainwashing with propaganda that should be obvious to even 10-year-olds. Sadly, it appears that what many around the world think of our citizens is true Americans really ARE that stupid!

Thus far, there are billions of dollars invested in these right-wing extremist broadcasting groups and they arent going to let a little thing like a lack of Trump stop them. We can only hope that the new Biden/Harris administration will work with our legislators to introduce requirements for cable news to offer truth in reporting. . .what a concept.

(S. Novi is a journalist that worked in the media and continues to seek out truth and integrity. A liberal and one that is suspicious of cults and empty promises. This piece appeared on Medium.com.) Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.

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From Wealth TV to OAN - Rich Conservatives are Brainwashing the Country - City Watch

Most people arent going anywhere this winterthat much is certain. But as we inch toward the one-year anniversary of the pandemic that changed our lives, its fun to dream about the places we want to go the moment things finally start returning to normal. Are you ready to come along for the ride?

Let your imagination run wild with this list of 2021s must-visit destinations, including Egypt. / Photo by Alison Wright/Getty Images

If theres any place in the world that loves to do things over the top, its this Mediterranean micro-state, the capital of mega-yachts, billionaires, high-stakes gambling, and all that glitters. For 2021, Monaco plans to make history by hosting not just its famed Grand Prix motor race in May, but three consecutive confetti-filled, champagne-drenched events. Not the car-racing type? Consider visiting in July or August for Monaco Art en Ciel, an internationally recognized fireworks festival. Just be sure to pack your black-tie attire and leave time for a round of roulette at the Monte Carlo Casino.

GETTING THERE

Numerous airlines have connecting flights from Boston to Nice; its then a 30-minute drive from the airport to Monaco. But we suggest leaning into the adventure and booking a Monacair helicopter transfer for 130 euros per person for the real 007 experience.

STAYING THERE

Book a room at the Htel Metropole and youll have exclusive access to the Metropole restaurant and terrace, with views of the only downhill stretch of the circuit. For a quieter seaside respite, try the Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel, located on its own private waterfront but only a short walk from the action.

History, art, architecture, and culture collide in spectacular fashion in Venice. / Photo by Paulina Stopka/Getty Images

This is itthis is the year you book that trip to Venice. With climate change and rising sea levels, you might not get another chance. When you do finally get there, youll see that the floating city isnt just about gelato cafs, gondola rides, and centuries worth of Italian arte classicaits also a haven for architecture buffs, who have studied it for decades. This year Venice will offer its Biennale Architettura 2021, an immersive citywide exhibition of conceptual displays put on by the worlds most interesting builders and thinkers between April and November. When youre not picking up some design inspo to bring back home, consider venturing beyond the famous city to take in the mountains, lakes, and fresh air of the breathtakingly beautiful Veneto region.

GETTING THERE

Alitalia has a convenient overnight nonstop from Logan to Rome-Fiumicino that takes less than eight hours. From there its a painless one-hour connection onward to the City of Bridges.

STAYING THERE

Its all about the iconic Gritti Palace, a 500-year-old former noblemans house turned luxury hotel. Ask to stay in Ernest Hemingways favorite suite so you can wake up to the sounds of the Grand Canal lapping below.

Theres no wrong time of year to visit Botswana. / Photo by Michael Kuhlmann/EYEEM/Getty Images

Lets face it: The most exotic animals youve probably seen recently are the chipmunks and squirrels in your own backyard. Could there be a better time, then, to check a safari off your travel bucket list? While South Africa and Kenya are the obvious destinations for first-time Africa visitors, travel insiders know Botswana to be something of a hidden gem: The camps are luxurious and private (Prince Harry has been known to favor Meno a Kwena on the Boteti River), the crowds are sparse, and the wildlife is sublime. Head to the Okavango Delta or Makgadikgadi Salt Pans between June and October, and youll be rewarded with herds of elephants playing on riverbanks and more than a few lazy lions lounging in the sun.

GETTING THERE

Its not a particularly quick or direct trip, but flying 12 hours on Qatar Airways from Boston to Doha, then grabbing a connection onward to Gaborone, makes the ride comfortable.

STAYING THERE

Long-standing favorite Jacks Camp just got a total rebuild but still has the antique furniture, jacquard-flap tents, and 1940s vibes that its fans adore. Traveling with the brood in tow? Check out the brand-new Xigera Safari Lodge, which features a two-bedroom family suite.

Soak up the sun and some dry desert heat in Palm Springs. / Photo via Westend61/Getty Images

The desert is looking particularly hot this year. Long a must-visit for enthusiasts of midcentury architecture (and those looking to escape Bostons frigid winters), Palm Springs is upping its cultural cred in 2021 with several distinctive experiences. First, the internationally acclaimed biennial art exhibition Desert X returns this February through April 11, letting visitors experience the unique landscape in a new way through site-specific outdoor art installations. Second, the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, opening this year, offers a glimpse into the rich history of the regions Cahuilla people.

And finally, July brings the debut of Palm Springs Surf Club, a recreational epicenter created by pro surfers and featuring an enormous wave pool that lets you hang 10 surrounded by views of sand dunes and mountains.

GETTING THERE

Hop on JetBlues direct flight from Logan and youll be basking in the California sunshine in just over six hours.

STAYING THERE

The 29-room Casa Cody, Palm Springs oldest operating hotel, just reopened following a full renovation (and still has one of the best locations in town, just steps from the Palm Springs Art Museum). Book the Olympic Cottage, which housed athletes during the Los Angeles 1932 Summer Olympics.

Belize is truly a choose-your-own-adventure destination, whether you prefer exploring or posting up on the beach with a frosty cocktail. / Photo via Thpstock/Getty Images

It might be the size of New Hampshire, but this small Caribbean nation teems with adventure at every turnmaking it the ideal escape for those whose quarantine was painfully sedentary. Explore long-forgotten Mayan ruins hidden in the jungle; hike to a waterfall in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, the only jaguar reserve on earth; swim with friendly nurse sharks in the North Islands; and sample some of the best tacos in the world at the Orange Walk taco festival this November. It says a lot about the destination that its miles and miles of unspoiled white-sand beaches are somehow the least interesting reason to visitbut dont get us wrong, after so much exploration, youll definitely want to set aside at least a few days to recover beachside with a rum punch in hand.

GETTING THERE

A connecting flight through Atlanta on Delta gets you to paradise in under seven hours.

STAYING THERE

No need to vie for beach chairs or fight over restaurant reservations when theres nobody else aroundprivate island Cayo Espanto offers seven secluded beach villas, so you can go your entire stay without seeing another guest. For easier access to Belizes activities and attractions, check out the brand-new Alaia Belize, Autograph Collection opening in March.

Egypts temples, tombs, and mummies have attracted visitors for millennia. / Nick Brundle Photography/Getty Images

Its been at the crossroads of the world for centuriesand thanks to recent investments in preserving the areas iconic architecture and artifacts, itll continue to be for years to come. Start your Indiana Jones adventure in Cairo, where the government just last year unveiled a $6 million, 14-year restoration of Pharaoh Djosers stepped pyramidthe oldest colossal stone structure in Egypt, dating to the 27th century BC. Then continue on to the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, which will be the largest archaeological museum in the world when it opens its doors this spring, with many pieces on display for the first time. After youve explored the pyramids and museums in the Greater Cairo area, hop on a quick flight to Aswan in the countrys arid southern region, where youll find Egypts greatest hits of tombs and temples.

GETTING THERE

You can connect through New York or Europe on numerous airlines, but a 12-hour Emirates flight to Dubai ensures youll have a restful overnight leg before transferring to Cairo.

STAYING THERE

The Sofitel Cairo Nile El Gezirah is centrally located and features an extraordinary infinity pool overlooking the Nile. If Nile cruises are up and running when you visit, consider the Steamship Sudanthe last remaining belle poque vessel of its kind on the river.

What Tofinos waters lack in warmth, they make up for with gnarly waves. / Photo by Manuel Sulzer/Getty Images

After a year of being stuck at home, were all itching to explore uncharted territory. Enter the village of Tofino, British Columbia: Nestled on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the remote destination is a nature lovers paradise where fishermen, surfers, and posh Vancouver weekenders live in harmony with the elementsall of them. Given that there isnt much between here and Japan except a few thousand miles of open North Pacific, when a storm rolls in during the off-season, its truly a spectacle to behold. When youre not exploring, try snagging a table at the award-winning Wolf in the Fog, where chef Nick Nuttings potato-crusted local oysters with apple and truffle oil attract foodies from around the world.

GETTING THERE

Youll have to hop, skip, and jump your way across our neighbor to the north on Air Canada or WestJet, but once you arrive in Victoria or Vancouver, BC, its a quick 45-minute flight on Pacific Coastal Airlines to Tofino, or a scenic drive across the heart of the island.

STAYING THERE

Each room at hotelier Charles McDiarmids luxurious Wickaninnish Inn comes with a soaking tub, fireplace, and picture window to experience Tofinos famous storms from the comfort of your roomas well as a rain slicker and boots in the closet if you feel like braving the weather outdoors.

Deep powder, Rocky Mountain views, luxurious hotels, a picturesque townthis is a winter destination that both die-hard skiers and die-hard lodge bunnies can get behind. / Jeff R. Clow/Getty Images

Leave the aprs-ski crowds in Aspen and the congested lift lines in Vailsocial distancing is the name of the game in this charming ski village, which boasts some of the tallest lift-accessed vertical drops and biggest skiable acreage on the continent. Hit the slopes and youll see why many pro skiers keep coming back season after season to the quaint Wyoming hideaway, where the terrain offers everything from beginner hills to the gnarliest of the gnar. Traveling with lodge bunnies, or perhaps your quads need a break for the day? Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks make for a scenic daylong road trip.

GETTING THERE

Connect through Chicago, Minneapolis, or Salt Lake Cityand keep an eye out for the Jackson Chamber of Commerces customary glass of bubbly (currently on hiatus due to COVID) upon arrival.

STAYING THERE

Pull out all the stops and book a suite at the over-the-top Caldera House, a swanky ski-in, ski-out hotel with an in-house ski shop. Grab a drink at the guests- and members-only bar, and chances are youll run into slope stars like Bode Miller.

Close enough for a road trip but far enough to feel totally new, Charlottesville offers a winning combination of history, culture, food, and wine that any Bostonian would find well worth the journey. / Photo by Thatree Thitivongvaroon/Getty Images

Calling all vino lovers: If youre tired of staring at the same bottles but arent ready to fly all the way to Bordeaux to upgrade your stash, a road trip from Massachusetts down to the other commonwealth is an equally transportiveand intoxicatingexperience. C-ville has history, restaurants, and the University of Virginia, but its also located in the center of the Monticello American Viticultural Area, where Thomas Jefferson famously claimed the U.S. could produce as great a variety of wines as are made in Europe. There are more than 30 stops along the Monticello Wine Trail, each with its own distinctly American history to explore. And with tourism here a fraction of what youll find at wineries in California or Europe, you wont have to worry about crowds as you savor cabernet franc amid views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

GETTING THERE

The trip can be done in just under nine hours by car, or its a quick flight to Richmond, Virginia, and then a one-hour drive.

STAYING THERE

Take a break from sipping and swirling at the year-old Quirk Hotel, the first boutique property to open downtown. Or unwind in the countryside at the Keswick Resort, which reopens this year after a complete renovationand with chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten overseeing all of the culinary operations.

Old meets new, city meets naturenowhere else does these things like Japan. Even if youre not going for the Olympics, there is still a lifetime of exploration to find here. / Photo by Carrie Huang/EYEEM/Getty Images

After a one-year COVID delay, its all eyes on Tokyo for the Summer Games of the XXXII Olympiad. If you arent lucky enough to score tickets to the Games themselves, there are still plenty of reasons to visit right now, from sampling Japanese whiskey at one of the citys hidden speakeasies to creating unforgettable Instagram posts among the otherworldly dots and immersive installations at the Yayoi Kusama Museum. Even just standing at Shibuya Crossing during rush hour and watching hundreds of pedestrians scramble-cross the intersection is worthwhilebecause after the most chaotic of years, seeing something so large have such order is sure to be an unexpectedly comforting experience.

GETTING THERE

It may be on the other side of the planet, but at least you dont need to make a connection: Japan Airlines offers a 14-hour direct flight from Logan to Narita International Airport.

STAYING THERE

An urban oasis in the heart of downtown, Hoshinoya Tokyo puts a deeply luxurious spin on the traditional ryokan, with an all-inclusive two-night, three-day relaxation program complete with spa treatments, deep-breathing exercises, hot-spring bathing, and immune-boosting fermented Japanese cuisine.

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A Bostonian's Guide toHopefullyTraveling This Year - Boston magazine