This is how you pour gasoline on a fire.

Let’s see, published so far are the Grammy payments to law firms. Joel Katz’s firm, Greenberg Traurig, renegotiated the $20 million a year deal with CBS for the telecast. Good work! Until you find out the firm was paid $6,309,936 that year, 2016. The firm was paid $1,758,388 in 2017, the last year for which figures are available. And Greenberg Traurig was paid $1,167,029 in 2015. What were all these fees for? Negotiating employment agreements, dealing with internal lawsuits? I mean, paying top buck when your budget is only so big…who is making these decisions, didn’t anybody think about hiring inside counsel?

That’s right, Deborah Dugan.

But it wasn’t only Greenberg Traurig. Proskauer Rose made $906,691 in 2017, and that year, in addition to the Greenberg and Proskauer fees, there was another $3,737,400 paid out in legal fees! So, in 2017, the Grammy organization paid over $6 million in legal fees, who do they think they are, Boeing?

But it gets worse. The Grammys are all about the awards. Who does the nominating?

Well, it turns out it’s a coterie of supposed experts. It’d be like a bunch of directors from the sixties deciding who should be nominated for Oscars. Actually, that might be better than what we’ve got, but the truth is it’s undemocratic, and there would be no transparency, the way the music business has liked it since its inception… Come on, can you say “royalties”? But no, the Grammys are run just like the business, opaque.

So Harvey Mason, Jr. tells us Dugan’s attorney offered to drop the claims, have Deborah Dugan pack up her bags and go home, in exchange for millions. Are we supposed to be offended by that? Does Mason think we’re ignorant musicians who don’t understand how the world works?

Dugan signed a contract, lengthy according to her attorney, and I’m sure it includes a provision whereupon the Grammys can fire Dugan for behavior beyond the pale. I’m sure there are even examples in said contract. And when you fire someone for cause, they get bupkes, i.e. nothing. So Dugan takes the gig, gives up a solid gig with Red, moves across the country, gets involved in this imbroglio and is willing to walk away with nothing, stab herself in the heart for the good of the Academy? Give me a break, take a look at Muilenberg’s golden parachute. Furthermore, an attorney is an advocate, a representative, their goal is to negotiate, to get you the best deal they can. Isn’t that what Harvey Mason, Jr. wants Greenberg Traurig to do, as he is a personal client of the firm?

Speaking of conflicts of interest…

As for the dueling investigations… Does anybody trust these anymore? It’s like hiring McKinsey, so you can blame the consultant when things go haywire. And how much are these investigations gonna cost? Quite possibly more than it would to pay Ms. Dugan to go home for good!

And the leaks just keep on coming.

Dugan didn’t get along, she didn’t play the game.

But she thought she was hired to clean up the mess. Come on, do you think Neil Portnow was gonna do this, the man who couldn’t even make nice over criticism of the lack of women being nominated and winning Grammys? Sure, maybe he misspoke, telling women to “step up,” but why wasn’t he conciliatory to begin with, why even go on the offensive?

Then Mason goes on to defend the Trustees. They work for free, yippee!

Yeah, for free at those meetings in Hawaii.

Mason is as stupid as Portnow when it comes to defending himself.

As for leaks… That’s how the world works these days. Hell, we have a President of the United States being impeached and there’s been one leak after another, because that’s how you get the truth out! Expect more leaks in this case.

As for the Gammy whistleblower, whose name has been leaked, i.e. Claudine Little, who claims the environment she worked in was “toxic and intolerable” and “abusive and bullying”…just ask Amy Klobuchar’s assistants, Klobuchar’s bad behavior has been well-documented and the “New York Times” just endorsed her for the Democratic nomination for President!

And people are always stunned how business works. This is the territory, and it’s not only men, but women too. And it’s a fast-moving world of big egos and why in the hell does the unverified statement of one employee put the head of the whole organization on leave?

I’ll tell you, Mason was inundated with input from other employees and he’s unsophisticated in these matters, never mind aligned with the usual suspects wanting business as usual.

Now if you follow business, boards are responsible for the behavior of the company, for the actions taken. And if Mason is so right, how come we aren’t hearing from the rest of those Trustees, i.e. board members, regarding what they think? Oh, they’re sucking at the tit and they don’t want to give up those perks while working for “free.” Which is why companies try to exclude board members who are doing it for the money, that clouds your opinion.

So a kerfuffle has turned into a conflagration.

And let’s take the worst case scenario, Dugan yelled at Little.

There’s no allegation Dugan hit her. There’s no allegation that Dugan fired her. Is this a reason to blow up the Grammys just before the telecast, when everybody is paying attention, which they only do once a year?

Now I don’t know what really happened.

But I know more than I did Thursday night.

And as the days go on, I’ll gain even more knowledge.

As for those vaunted Trustees, is any of them of the caliber of Chuck D, who defended Ms. Dugan, who has a reputation for telling the truth, speaking his mind?

So they tried to clean up the Grammys, run it legitimately, they even formed a task force to find the best candidate, who turned out to be a woman with experience in the field, and with celebrity musicians. And I wonder how much that process cost. And now Dugan is trying to institute change and it’s her fault? And alleged behavior trumps ideas?

If Mason was a leader, he’d accept responsibility and take prompt action. But he won’t, he’s a typical two-faced musician, making nice to your face and then stabbing you in the back thereafter.

Oh, don’t argue. Come on, you know how it works, in order to work a musician has to be nice to everybody, that’s how you make it. It’s only when you get to the top that you can do things your way. And even if you do, the label might take it out on you…remember George Michael with Sony or Neil Young with Geffen?

Institutions need to be challenged on a regular basis. To stand still is to die. This is how the labels almost lost complete control of recordings with the advent of Napster. And the truth is today they do not have the control they once did, and never will again. What happens when CBS no longer wants to pay $20 million a year for the telecast? What’s the plan then? Oh, you know it’s coming.

Yes, the artist has gained traction in the internet era. And Dugan was trying to take the focus off the lifers populating the labels and the Grammy organization and she’s the one paying the price.

Only in Hollywood.

“Interim Grammy Chief Slams Deborah Dugan in Letter; Warns of ‘Misinformation,’ ‘Leaks'”

The Democrats’ Best Choices for President

You can’t have it both ways.

The story of the twenty first century has been disruption. New companies aligned with the future eating the lunch of the old established operations who are asleep, super-serving their usual customers and believing in gradual change.

The definitive take on this is by Clayton Christensen, in his 1997 book “The Innovator’s Dilemma.” Everybody in Silicon Valley has read it, but seemingly nobody in New York or Los Angeles.

Christensen said to beware of enterprises producing an innovative product that is shoddy and cheap. Eventually it will get better and demolish your business. The way to counteract this is to innovate yourself, to build your own competitor on these precepts. And when the game changes, when the new product truly gains traction, shut down the old and throw all your efforts into the new.

The “New York Times” is super-serving its core audience of elite baby boomers. There are endless anti-technology articles, as if the smartphone hasn’t improved our lives, as if technology hasn’t made reporters’ own jobs easier, being able to write remotely and transmit instantly.

And it’s hard to grasp the future when you’ve lived in the past. The older you are the more history you’ve got. You’re jarred by innovation.

But that’s the way it happens, overnight.

Like with Trump.

So what did the “Times” do? It said Hillary was gonna win, it missed it completely.

And it’s been flagellating itself for this ever since.

Now credit the “Times” as opposed to Fox, which never admits it makes a mistake and never takes a hard look at itself. And Fox too is challenged, its audience is a tiny sliver of oldsters. Sure, Trump himself watches, but not the youngsters, who get all their news online. Fox does not control the message on the internet, which is why Bannon went from outside to inside in 2016, he had the pulse of the internet.

So all the “Times” and the elites believe is Trump was victorious and he must go. The true reasons for his election, the movement behind it, remain elusive to these writers in the bubble.

But it gets worse, the bubble influences the bubble. The Editorial Board is worried about being woke, worried about being politically incorrect. It doesn’t want to make the Oscar mistake, of not nominating women and minorities. Instead of being influenced by truth, it is influenced by its audience.

Amy Klobuchar has no chance.

But it gets worse, the “Times” talks about her “charisma.”

If Amy Klobuchar has charisma, then so does your grandpa. Brad Pitt has charisma. Robert DeNiro has charisma. Madonna has charisma. Rihanna has charisma. But a bland, Ivy League educated denizen of the Midwest does not. This is what happens when you think with your brain instead of your heart, when you get so caught up in intellectualism that you can’t see the truth. If you only watched Klobuchar, you’d see she had no chance. No one wants the suck-up teacher’s pet, who smiles like they’re popular when they’re not, who keeps on telling us how great they are, to tell us what to do. Klobuchar is not warm and fuzzy. In some ways she’s even repellent. Ask women, why aren’t they behind her?

And that’s another thing, Klobuchar’s poll numbers are abysmal. The elites keep saying they want a centrist and therefore they try and boost her. But this didn’t work for Jeb Bush, why should it work for Democrats?

As for Elizabeth Warren…she’s turned into Joe Biden, shooting herself in the foot.

Bernie Sanders admits middle class taxes will go up with Medicare For All. Warren dodges the question and then comes up with magical thinking to prove how she’ll pay for it without raising taxes on the middle class. And when the blowback gets heavy, she says she’ll delay implementation. Wishy-washy we do not want. We want someone who sticks to their guns.

And then Warren attacks Bernie on a non-issue, whether he said a woman can’t be President. Hell, I said a black man couldn’t be President in 2008, and I was proven wrong. And then CNN kept shoving the shiv into Bernie. This is what the mainstream has missed, the left wing uproar about the CNN questioning. I’m hearing it, but the only place I’ve read it is Matt Taibbi’s piece in “Rolling Stone”:

“CNN’s Debate Performance Was Villainous and Shameful-The 24-hour network combines a naked political hit with a cynical ploy for ratings”

Millennials picked up on this. The “Times” did not. Because it doesn’t fit with their narrative. They want a centrist, they want reasonableness, they don’t want anything that resembles a revolution.

But that’s what Trump was.

As for newspapers themselves, the “Times” is afraid the “Chicago Tribune” is gonna go the way of the “Denver Post.”

Will The Chicago Tribune Be the Next Newspaper Picked to the Bone?

Well I live in Los Angeles, and what’s striking to me is no one gets the L.A. “Times” anymore. I reference it, and I get blank faces. Everybody’s canceled their subscription. Oh, they get the “New York Times,” but not this rag that looks like a pamphlet and too often has the nutritional value of a Twinkie.

Today’s “Los Angeles Times” has doubled-down on awards coverage, it’s got a special section “The Envelope” that is unreadable, pure fluff. Yes, the L.A. “Times” is ruled by publicists. Its national coverage is weak, and its local coverage is lame and you’re expecting people to pay for this, with their time and money?

Oh, you’ll say it’s not the “Times”‘s fault. The web stole movie listings and Craigslist stole classifieds. I ask you, aren’t both of these an improvement?

You cannot prop up the past. The future comes, cheaper and better, but always with some flaws, some losses.

Turns out the local newspaper wasn’t built for these times. And when I can read the national news in the “New York Times,” “Washington Post” and “Wall Street Journal,” why should I settle for a pale imitation of that?

But you get the same complaints again and again from the oldsters.

We should have saved record stores. The internet killed them.

We should save bookstores from Amazon, and while we’re at it, put a finger in the dike of digital books. Hell, you’re reading all day on your electronic devices but when it comes to full-length stories they must be physical? Hogwash!

Yes, the right beats up the “Times” and CNN. So the left shouldn’t, correct?

Of course not! This is like the right saying you can’t criticize the country, you must lionize the flag. Our nation was built on questioning, we want our institutions to be better!

So the “Times” is so afraid of its audience that it punts. Doubles down on the fantastical.

The battle is between Bernie, Biden and Bloomberg, the three B’s.

And that’s not because the populace is only interested in men, and not people of color. Hell, I live in California, Kamala Harris was a flawed candidate from day one. She lacked experience! But the media built her up as the person of color who was gonna save us all.

This is what happens when you try and game the system, when you don’t install the best person for the job, but the one who is politically correct.

Oh, don’t get your panties in a twist. I’m not saying that women and minorities should not be given advantages to level the playing field, I’m not saying there should be no affirmative action, I’m just saying you can’t control people’s votes. Turns out the public didn’t want Kamala. Turns out the public, or a great slice of it, wanted Trump. If you don’t live in the real world, you’re going to get trampled.

So instead of asking the hard questions, the “Times” satiates its constituency and lives to publish another day. It says it’s a fight for the soul of the Democratic party. Is it left, or much more left. But rather than making a call, it punts!

And then today the “Los Angeles Times” posts an insightful article, but no one reads it, it gets no traction, because once you’ve sacrificed yourself to the almighty dollar, once you’ve taken your eye off the prize, once you’re considered a loser, you cannot recover.

“Beyond ideology: The voters torn between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden”

Meanwhile, the “New York Times” is propping up a candidate with no chance and another whose campaign is going in the wrong direction.

Warren had the heat, the odds of recovering it are low. Welcome to the twenty first century when you must triumph in the spotlight and keep the attention of the public. The problem with Warren is she disappointed her base. Instead of owning her positions, she waffled, because she kept on reading in the left wing press that she was too far left. But we’re looking for a person who marches to the beat of their own drummer, who is not swayed by the fray. Come on, that’s the social media mantra, if you’ve got a profile, don’t respond to the trolls!

So, can Bloomberg capture enough hearts and minds through his carpet bomb advertising campaign? We’re not sure. A lot of New Yorkers are anti-Bloomberg, and a lot of the rest of the country knows nothing about him. But Trump won because he was on TV, and there’s a theory that online advertising helped his campaign. Even though I don’t believe he’s gonna make it, I’m open to the idea Bloomberg can get there. Because this is the first time someone has ever employed this paradigm.

Klobuchar’s paradigm is as old as the hills. I won before, I’m a fighter, trust me. Huh?

Warren was a leader, but then she got confused, trying to please everybody. And that’s one thing the internet has taught us, this is impossible. Quell climate change and you’ll still be excoriated online. We do not live in a kumbaya culture. Everybody cannot get along.

I’m not saying Warren cannot come back, I’m just saying it’s gonna be tough.

Meanwhile, Bernie is ascending and Biden is faltering and the “Times” has taken its eye off the ball.

As for its constituency…

Those in control like to remain in control. They do not like to lose anything, they do not like to sacrifice. The “New York Times” believes in its own gravitas, it does not want to question itself. And when it occasionally does, it says profit is king it must obey the bottom line, even though the internet companies triumphed by giving it away and monetizing later, knowing that hearts and minds and market share come first, and change must be incremental, even though the last twenty five years have proven that’s a death sentence.

And it’s not only the “Times,” but its audience, its readers.

The people want change. Drastic change. The government is not working for them. And the question is whether disinformation will rule, or truth. Whether the rank and file voter will get the facts, or bogus information that skews their opinions and their votes.

We are fighting for the heart and soul of our country here. And the history of the world tells us that change happens overnight. It’s not there and then it is. The same way a social media platform erupts and then caves, even though those in the music industry think TikTok is forever, just like Guitar Hero.

We’re looking for great leaps forward, we’re looking to be saved, we’re looking for hope.

And today we did not find it in the “New York Times.”

We live in a world where we can no longer do or say as we choose.

Because of the blowback.

Play online, say something, have an opinion and you’ll be inundated with naysayers.

God help you if you do cross the line, you can apologize but you’ll be branded forever.

And you think you’re a party of one, but then you watch “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and you realize you are not alone.

The breaking of the selfie stick. How is this a thing? Forget selfies themselves, didn’t we used to be too humble for this? As for sticks… I mean you carry these around and shoot pictures of yourself and you expect us to care?

And the damn scooters. Dropped everywhere. And if you look at the physics of it, what’s gonna happen when you hit a bump? The bigger the wheel, the safer you are. But that doesn’t explain why today’s automobiles have such skinny tires just to look good. Hit a pothole and not only do you get a flat, you need a whole new rim! And the ride is stiffer but it’s all about looks.

We’re so busy fitting in, afraid of crossing boundaries, that we feel constricted, we want to break out.

And the funny thing is it’s mostly on the left!

Yup, there are certain things you can’t say, you can’t do…

But “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is shot in Los Angeles, where everybody is left. Such that when you wear a MAGA hat, people will not talk to you, they want nothing to do with you.

So the truth is everybody’s fighting to get ahead, at least in Los Angeles. They’ve all got a dream, they’re going to be somebody rich and famous.

And the funny thing is so many of those who are rich, who have made it, can’t stop bragging about it. The bit with Phil Rosenthal was so right on.

So what you’ve got with Larry is someone who calls ’em as he sees ’em. Unfiltered. He says and does what we want to do but have been trained not to.

And the best thing is everything’s petty. Nothing’s truly important. Mirroring real life. Especially when you get older.

It is about that hot cup of coffee. It is about friends.

As for romance…does it ever really end? I mean it’s over, but those feelings, do they really evaporate?

Most other shows are trying to be real and miss the target.

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” is trying to be fake and it ends up more real, more true.

Like the woman with the tattoo, who says it’s personal, what it’s about, it reminds her of something important in her life.

Don’t laugh at people’s tattoos. They’ve scarred themselves forever, they’re very important to them.

Never mind that tattoos are just a fad. Believe me, the kids of those covered in ink will have clear skin. Just like so many of the children of baby boomers are money hungry, and Republicans, if they don’t call themselves Libertarians. Alex P. Keaton was just the first!

And the funny thing is people cross boundaries and when they’re called on it they refuse to own it, they push it right back on you.

So life ends up being about the little things.

Even though the news tries to tell us it’s about the big things.

Impeachment, smeachment. We’re sick and tired of hearing about it. It’s like watching an endless movie where you know the end. At least the Democrats and the press could have juiced it up, told us that Trump might be out, but no! They’ve already decided on the result, just like they said Hillary was gonna win in 2016.

So the human condition today is to feel alone and try to get accolades. Isn’t that what social media is all about, doing it for the likes? Actually, the social media warriors are up in arms, they’re gonna get rid of the likes on Instagram, how will they judge themselves, how will they demonstrate they’re better than all the rest of us? And the like factories, building fake fans, they’re gonna go out of business! You can’t put anybody out of business today!

And men are on guard with sexual harassment. Every interaction is pregnant with meaning, even if it really isn’t. Men wonder where the line is.

And the truth is life is not only tribal between left and right, but left and left. And nobody on the left is willing to get into this, especially males, for fear of being canceled.

How Larry David encapsulated all this in a half hour improvised comedy I’ll never know.

But watching “Curb” made me feel alive, and unalone, in a way I haven’t for weeks!

DON’T TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS!

We’re only two episodes into the second season, and there are four.

If “Money Heist” were in English, it would be the biggest show on television.

That’s not to say it would be the best show on television, but once you get hooked, you eat it right up.

Now on one level the series is meaningless, as in it’s about a heist. And if you’re into cops and robbers, first watch “Spiral,” on Amazon, but that’s in French. And if you want to learn something, view “A French Village.”

But chances are you won’t do any of the above, because you’re too busy going down your own rabbit hole, and you’re not sure if you trust me.

But the reason to watch “Money Heist” on Netflix is because of the people, their personalities.

The truth doesn’t come out until the middle of the first season, they don’t go deep into the background of any of the personalities until then, but when they do, there are so many issues.

Can a group get along? Or is there always someone who bucks the system?

And when the going gets hard, do you stick to the plan or?

And if you’re a hostage, do you try to escape?

I’ve thought about that my whole life. As a Jew you grow up learning about the Holocaust, and you wonder, would you leave?

Looks all rosy from the other side, especially if you know history, but are you willing to give up everything, your house, your friends, your money, in order to try and preserve your life? And the emphasis here is on “try.” It’s like a human version of “Let’s Make A Deal.” And I’m asking you, do you feel lucky? I don’t.

Kind of how I used to talk to Republicans. I always tried to see their side, keep it calm, but the funny thing is they never tried to see my side. Oh, they thought they knew it and it was incorrect, so they had no time for it. But in the age of Trump, I don’t suffer them anymore.

Then again, I’m so busy listening to people to be a member of the group, to be friends, because the rewards are there, when you’re a pinball you learn the pitfalls, you gain experience, you have fun.

But few are listening to me.

That’s another thing I’ve learned about the modern age, how narcissistic people are. They’re just looking for an opportunity to sell you their vision, no matter how bogus, they’ve convinced themselves and now they’re trying to convince you. And they may throw some money to charities, but it’s about embellishing their brand. Poor people going nowhere have no brand, they give out of compassion. But in America everybody believes they’re going to be a winner, and you succeed by appealing to them. Want to know how the election will turn out? Watch the movie “Milk.” Harvey Milk is speaking the truth, but he’s giving no hope, and he loses until he does just that.

My hope is in these shows. Maybe because they’re static, maybe because they can’t jump off the flat screen and try to cajole me into watching. They’re another world, and as much as they’re an escape, I’m looking for truth. Flawed people, usually unaware of their flaws, trying to work it out.

I couldn’t work it out until I went into therapy. I thought I could see the landscape, but I couldn’t. Not that I had to adjust my entire personality, my doctor says you can change one tiny thing and the whole picture changes.

Now if you’re a parent, how involved in your kid’s roadmap are you?

The funny thing is the elites are heavily involved. Making sure their progeny follow the right steps to be comfortable in life, however unhappy they might be. And life’s too short to go through it unhappy, then again, I’ve martyred myself on the slab of commitment more than once.

That’s the conundrum. Rewards go to those who stick with it, but there’s also a time to jump, but those sunk costs…

So, do you pressure your kid into being a winner if they’re a loser?

And if you’re a loser, do you have to own it?

That comes up in “Money Heist.” As well as class. Your dream is you can climb the ladder, whereas those already up top not only won’t let you in, they’re ignoring you. Is it worth it to try and fight your way up there?

And so much of success comes down to character. Then again, many of the mega-rich are flawed. They had to be so myopic, they had to step on so many people to get ahead. Steve Jobs was inherently flawed. Mark Zuckerberg is too. Don’t wait for Mark to be reasonable, it’s not in his toolkit.

But it comes down to applying yourself, how long can you stay in the ring before you cry “uncle.” The truth is most people can’t last too long, so if you can, you march right to the head of the class.

And if you’re a parent, are you watching your own mistakes, or are you just passing them on to your kids, the after-effects or the lessons.

So, can a leopard change its spots?

In other words, once a criminal always a criminal?

And in today’s world, can you get away with anything but white collar crime, has technology progressed to the point where you’re gonna get caught, no matter what? Hell, there are cameras in your own damn house, do you think they’re not going to go to that videotape?

And what’s your price? At what point do you throw over your morals for money?

And at what point do you do what’s expedient, cozy up to your capturers believing it will keep you alive.

And personality drives the car more than looks. The way the women manipulate the men in this series… And they know they’re doing it! And can you handle when a woman comes on to you, when she is calling the shots, or do you get nervous?

And speaking of rules… Do you obey them or do you not? Every day in the news there are legends who have turned out to have crossed the line. Can you say “Houston Astros”?

And at what point are you in so deep that it’s not worth turning back?

And can you rely on others. Today, mostly you can’t, especially on the small things. Will the person show up on time? Will they show up at all?

And some of the winners feel like losers inside. The picture says one thing and the heart says another.

And it still comes down to the question of whether I’d try to escape. I think not. I’d think I could cozy up to my captors, I’d think I’d be rescued, I’d think if I broke the rules I’d pay the consequences, as in getting shot, killed. And death is final. Done deal. The world moves on, you don’t.

I know, I know, it’s just a genre series.

But the masterminding of the crime is fascinating.

But it’s the life lessons that keep me watching.