If you'd rather watch happy stuff than the politics race, check out James Corden (host of the Late Late Show) and One Direction doing carpool karaoke. I've watched it six or seven times and still laugh. Also fun to watch: James and One Direction playing a game of Tattoo Roulette and Corden's "Take a Break" segments where he fills in for others at work. Two really funny ones are where he tries to be a real estate agent and sell a house to rapper Tyga and get the listing for a house owned by LA Clippers player J.J. Reddick. In the second one, I think the funniest part is when he takes a shower. [More...]

Marco Rubio bashed Cuba hard during last night's Republican debate. I don't know that anyone outside of Miami's conservative Cuban-American community agree with him. He also threatened that Guantanamo will be kept open and lots of people will be tried there.

Marco Rubio is not "America's Sweetheart." Neither is Ted Cruz, who always seem to wear too much eye makeup during debates. He reminds me a bit of Pee Wee Herman.

Much more fun to watch than Republicans, is Elle King. The video above of "America's Sweetheart" is from her appearance a few days ago on the Late Late Show with James Corden. "Kick out the jams, kick up the soul, Pour another glass of that rock and roll." [More....]

Thread.

VAIO U.S.A., the Japanese company that bought the Sony VAIO line from Sony, has released the Z and S versions of its new laptops. I really want this one. I want to be her, sitting at a rustic table in the woods with a glass of wine, surfing through leisure sites on my shiny new laptop that weighs under 3 pounds. (Instead of bringing my 6 pounder to the jail, where it's searched as I enter a cramped visiting room for hours at a time to review discovery and listen to wiretapped calls with my clients. Not that I mind going to the jail with my computer for visits, I actually enjoy it, but I hate lugging the 6 pounder with me.)

Here's the question I ask myself (in my mind, its how I imagine Reggie would ask it on the Late Late Show with James Corden.)

So if you had this new laptop, would you fly off to a magical, peaceful place to be alone with the computer and spend your time looking at extravagant items while drinking a glass of wine, and would the wine be chardonnay or something else? [More...]

A new season of The Voice begins. The Bachelor is close to wrapping up. James Corden should have some funny commentary on the Oscars tonight.

In more important news, U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein ruled Apple does not have to decrypt an iPhone (not really a surprise.) [More...]

For those not watching the Oscars, or tuning in afterwards, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

(If you're not into the Oscars, Season 2 of La Viuda Negra (about Griselda Blanco) begins tonight on Unimas, with English subtitles. A 2 hour recap of the first season is starting right now.)

From the AP, here's what happened today with the presidential hopefuls of both parties.

Bernie Sanders has never run for national office as a Democrat. Donald Trump has never run for office, let alone as a Republican. Jack Shafer at Politico calls them the "Political Parasites of 2016."

Trump isn’t the only political parasite on the hustings this season. Bernie Sanders, who never ran as a Democrat before this election, has likewise attempted to colonize the gastrointestinal tract of a major party in hopes that it will eventually deposit him at the White House. True to his parasitical nature, Sanders loves the idea of the party but has little interest in actually supporting it. He has raised only $1,000 for the Democratic Party’s fundraising alliance, while Hillary Clinton, who is many things but assuredly not a parasite, has raised $26.9 million.

I don't really get why Chris Christie's endorsement is important. Reuters has this article on Christie's benefit to Trump. I wonder what position Trump has promised him if he wins the election.

In other news, the Guardian has a very interesting article on how both the media and terrorists have adapted and made use of new technologies to capture viewer attention.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

We have a thread up for the Republican debate. Our last open thread is full, so here's a new one, for non-debate topics (politics is ok, just not the debate.)

So how much clout do Martin Scorcese and Mick Jagger have? Not only is Vinyl on HBO in the U.S., but check this out, from Mick Jagger's website:

The second episode of Vinyl airs tonight on HBO in the USA and Canada.Go here for listings in Latin America

The show airs in the UK and Ireland on Sky Atlantic on Mondays at 9pm.

Vinyl is also available on HBO Asia, HBO Nordic, HBO Czech Republic and Sky Italia.

Viewers in North America can stream the first episode for free here.

Explore the Vinyl website here.

Is there any other show that airs simultaneously in so many countries? I wonder which country has the highest ratings.

I didn't care for the first episode, it was too depressing and I'm into happy these days. Maybe I'll it give another chance. Has anyone watched both episodes? What do you think?

Again, this is an open thread, all topics welcome except tonight's debate, which you can comment on here.

Our last open thread is full. Here's a new one, all topics welcome.

Here's a new open thread, all topics welcome.

Why am I watching the Late Late Show with James Corden for the third time this week (having never seen it before?) Because he's so happy.

I'm serious. I'm really tired of bickering, negativity and Republicans. And bedtime has to be the worst time to watch, read or write about politics.

Since we already have new threads up today on South Carolina, Nevada, Trump and Hillary, here's an open thread for non-election related topics. All other topics welcome -- happy or not.

My blogging hiatus is officially over. Everything is unpacked and the place is clean. All that is left is finding someone to hang my art and I'm not in any hurry. The place looks great -- just like I expected it would five months ago when I first moved.

What else I've been doing while not blogging: I'm almost done testing out my new Dell Inspiron laptop. I really wanted the new Vaio Canvas or Flip or upcoming Vaio S, or even the Dell XPS 15, but they were $1,000 more than the Inspiron (for the same features. ) The trade-off and sacrifice was weight -- the Inspiron weighs 6 pounds and feels like 8 (probably since I'm used to my Sony Vaio which weighs 4 pounds.) [More...]