Once a staunch populist and Donna Reed-type iconic darling of the Republican party, Alaska governor Sarah Palin officially announced today she is stepping down from office. Public duties aside, Palin had been criticized lately for straying far from her populist roots and spending her time too entangled in the partisan politics du jour. Whatever the case may be and the public transformation-to-come, Palin will not be out of the news for long as she’s established herself as someone who gravitates to the spotlight and for a politician bidding for the White House that may not be a bad thing. Obama took “over-exposed” to new heights in his presidential run, utilizing diverse media channels (print, online, TV) and touring the pop culture circuit quite aggressively. Something tells me Sarah would do well to emulate Obama in this regard. She’s already well on her way to learning (thru some growing pains) how to navigate the treacherous waters of the press. Now she just needs to learn how to tame and master the spin of the internet and work it to her advantage.
Hearing about Michael Jackson’sdeath made me sad. Hearing about it constantly for almost a week angers me. Yes he died, yes he was the king of pop (and pop culture is what this blog is about,) but come on, give it a break. Does anyone remember what the main topic on the news was the day before Michael Jackson’s death? Well I do, it was Iran. The current Iranian regime could not have hoped for a better distraction, now, when no one is looking anymore, they can take care of the poor protesters old school middle eastern style, we won’t hear about it until after the funeral.
Michael Jackson, who was rushed to the hospital today in cardiac arrest, was confirmed dead. He was 50-years-old. And let’s not overlook, one of the Charlie’s Angel’s and 70s icon, Farrah Fawcett lost her battle with cancer earlier today at the young age of 62.
Regina Spektor’s new album, Far, is slated for release this Tuesday, June 23rd. For a sneak peak of the talented chanteuse’s signature track, “Laughing With,” listen below.
Billy Joel’s wife Katie Lee, 33 years his junior, and the former host of the hit Bravo reality TV show, Top Chef, is shagging Israeli fashion designer, Yigal Azrouel. Sidebar: Am I wrong in thinking this guy is a total arse schmuck? Then again, maybe my pragmatism and miserly disposition just don’t see the value in spending $1150 on a cotton dress with a zipper, which by any other name smells like shmatas.
Joel and Lee announced their split just this week amidst rumors of infidelity. While the Joel-Lees are denying the rumors, it would seem that the age difference was a major factor in their split. Joel’s former “Uptown Girl,” Christie Brinkley was in the news last year when news of her former hubby’s scandalous shacking up with their nanny hit the fan.
Now that they’re both older, anyone else think that Joel and Brinkley should just reunite and stop trying to reclaim their youth by marrying adulterous klumniks?
When everything is said and done, and the dust will settle, Al Roker will ask himself, “How did I get here?” It all started on Monday, when these two clowns whom I’ve never heard of before (Well maybe I have heard of them, but never on purpose,) Heidi and Spencer Pratt (A.K.A Speidi,) showed the entire nation how smart they really are while on TheToday Show. Roker, who seems to have something against idiots, threw a couple of punches, then wrote about it on Twitter. The couple, while going from one TV station to another, complained about how he treated them, now everyone is talking about it because it’s not like there is anything that are more important in our world then this, and the interview will surely make its way to The Soup. There you have it, Al Roker is in reality TV world. Next thing you know, will be the star of a show Called “Being Al Roker- The Life Of A Weatherman” which is actually not a bad idea!
Led by the most decorated coach in NBA history, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant the giant and the rest of the Lakers won the title again, playing amazing Basketball. Kobe no longer has a chip on his shoulder, and I can say again what I’ve said before, Bryant is up there with Magic, Bird, and yes, Michael Jordan. If you watched the game, you know what I’m talking about, if you didn’t, take my word for it.
Because it’s never too late to think about “trialing” new vocations and you’ve got nothing but time on your hands when your producers are picking up your $3340/night villa tab (not to mention the $410/day on handlers), Amy Winehouse has taken to a bit of volunteerism - setting her mind on healing the inhabitants of St. Lucia.
WInehouse has been in the news lately for making even more random, off-colored comments (no pun intended) than usual, but then again, envisioning Amy as a candy striper prepping meals, visiting expectant mothers, and handing out medicines seems the most far-fetched role to date.
Whatever the case may be, here’s hoping that Amy keeps her head up amidst the trashy news of her husband’s bastard baby. Focusing on people who have learned to live with a little less might be just what the doctor ordered.
Seems like Microsoft did all the right things: A catchy name without any known meaning, an interesting design, Google like appearance, quick response time, and of course, spent lots of dough on PR.
But people are used to using Google, we’ve been living by it for so long. It’s like going to a different supermarket then the one you’re used to, you can’t find anything.
So should Google be concerned?Sure, don’t forget who invented the wheel(Or in this case the window,) but I don’t think they should panic, Google owns the Internet, and it will be a while before we’ll know if Bing can really challenge the landlord.
Loved the TV commercial though (couldn’t find a link to the video on Google…)
Will Ferrell made a stop on the Today Show today to promote his latest flick, Land of the Lost. Ferrell has been fulfilling his various promotional duties - the press-related racket that comes with being owned by Universal and even made a stop earlier this week to baptize Conan’s new Late Show, and proclaiming himself honorary 1st guest. Ferrell’s memorable entrance on the show featured him sitting atop a sedan chair while 4 men in loincloths carried him and the chair.
But back to Matt Lauer and his visions of stardom.
Lauer was not on hand to interview Will Ferrell (that would be too gauche), but Meredith Vierra was and true to her ever-inappropriate, stick 2-feet-and-elbow-and-a-car-in-her-mouth ways, she simply talked about Matt Lauer’s cameo with little regard for Will or the film. Whether this was calculated or not, the whole interview was about Matt Lauer.
For those of you egging for a real Will Ferrell interview and what components it should entail, check out this Daily Showclip from 2000.
Disclaimer: The writer of this post knows nothing about the stock market!
The American car industry is not quite dead yet. While Chrysler is out of the game for now, and the guys over at GM are talking bankruptcy, Ford is saving the day. With no bailout money owed, and a cool efficient line of cars, Ford shows stability, and reliability. Same goes for the company’s stock. When I first saw F a few months ago it was going for $2.07 per share, now it is at $5.30! And it could go even higher (Or lower,) with the expected sales reports.
So I say, buy American cars, and also, buy American stocks.
I happened to catch the newly released soccer flick, “Rudo Y Cursi,” this weekend and while I’m no fan of soccer (much to the chagrin of my husband), I’m usually up for some Gael Bernal Garcia with a twist of Diego Luna. The former more than the latter, but no need to get choosy here.
The movie tells the story of two brothers - Rudo, played by Luna is the brighter and more motivated of the two and is determined to be a soccer star at all costs to himself and his family and then there’s Tato (nicknamed “Cursi”), the more likable of the two, and possibly the more talented, but also the more foolish one. Each of them has their own vice (for Rudo it’s gambling and cocaine; for Cursi it’s women and his short-sighted desire for fame in the form of becoming a singing sensation).
So while the movie is a cliche in its own right: And yet another variation on the theme of what happens when you take 2 neglected hicks and feed them into a world of overnight success and lavish attention on them, there is something deeper that the flick hints at which I think a lot about in my own career - the distinction between passion and talent.
The most successful people are the ones that can objectively (if that’s possible) look inward and package their talents in a way that makes them desirable candidates for the work they pursue. It may not reflect their passion, but it speaks to their ability to know their strengths. While Cursi is drawn to music, soccer is the device that allows him to pursue his passion and what makes him such a tragic figure is that he unabashedly takes for granted the very thing that enables him to follow his passion.
NBC canned “Medium” and the lovely Patricia Arquette only to have the show brought back to life by those silly “Ghost Whisperer”(s) over at CBS. Now all we need is Roma Downey to join the cast and we can exit stage right and proceed directly to heaven.
CBS takes death very seriously. In fact, all this repetitive ghost stuff makes me think that they just don’t know when to kill a decent storyline when they see it. In other words, get rid of J.Love and keep Allison Dubois.
Here’s a revelation: Somehow watching “Oprah” makes people want to eat. The few times I’ve been home early enough to watch the show, it never makes me wanna make a b-line for the fridge, especially when Dr. Oz is on talking about bowel movements or someone is griping about crash diets, but Oprah’s stellar star power and popularity has once again facilitated the way for a major brand to make money, and then fail miserably in the actual follow-through.
This time for KFC.
On last week’s show, Oprah announced that she’d be featuring coupons on her website for free KFC grilled chicken dinners. Her website was flooded with phat consumers, just waiting to get their hands on a golden, fried ticket. (p.s. KFC’s official website also has printable coupons)
Long story short KFC had to end the promotion after they realized they’d have to hire competent people to cook the chicken to meet the demand they were faced with. Ok, I made second part of that sentence up, but really, I can’t be that far off from the truth here.
You should watch HBO’s special Ricky Gervais- Out of England if:
- You like the dude.
- You like stand up comedy.
- You like The Office/ Extras.
- You had enough of those lame boring (Dane Cook but not limited to) people, who for some unknown reason manage to get a gig/ appear in movies whenever they want.
- You’re having a laugh. Are you having a laugh?
David Faustino, better known as “Married with Children’s” Bud Bundy, is attempting a comeback in an online show called Star-Ving.
From Crackle: With the money from “Married… with Children” gone, Faustino’s short stature, alcoholism, and sex fueled Hollywood life has kicked him squarely in the cubes. “Star-ving” follows his second attempt at stardom. Pulling along his old buddy Corin Nemec (“Parker Lewis Can’t Lose”)
Guest staring in this hilarious yet extremely vulgar and rude show, are the entire “Married With Children” cast, Gilbert Gottfried, Coolio, Ron Jeramy, Ed Asner and many more.
How far does the show goes? Well let’s just mention that in one episode Christina Applegate’s answer to Faustino’s cry for help is: Leave me alone, I had Cancer (!) and in another he literally eat shit. We’ll stop there…
So we hear that Michal Vick is going to spend the rest of his jail time at home. This amazing decision comes because There is no room at a halfway house for him, a government official told The Associated Press. Of course Vick will be under home confinement and will probably be force to finish all of his meals, or he will go to his room, which is much worst then a prison cell. But on the other hand, if he can access his back yard, maybe he can have a dog! Or two, otherwise you can’t really make a dog fight himself right? And if the dog doesn’t fight, you can’t make any money.
This, all smiles in the picture above, is Ingrid Mattson. Dear Ingrid is such a BFF with the Obamas, that she gets to speak at new US president’s inaugural prayer service.
One thing we forgot to mention is that Mattson, is the president of the Islamic Society of North America- a Muslim organization which federal prosecutors in the United States say has ties to Hamas.
But hey, don’t let the facts confuse you, you didn’t make this mistake during the elections, why start now, right?
And by the way, I did not hear a word about this issue in the media (With the exception of Fox news of-course…) They are too busy with the Inauguration… Again those facts… Who has time for this now….
Welcome to this week’s feature of “Really?? Seriously??” brought to you by yours truly. This week we explore the way in which news on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas is being broadcast by a few major news channels.
The following is not an epiphany.
It occurred to me this morning that the same media centers who fault Israel for not engaging in a peaceful 2-way dialogue with Hamas are not exactly innocent of presenting their audiences with an entirely objective, impartial view on the conflict and that in fact their view lends itself to continuing resentment and animosity towards Israelis, perpetuating the cycle of war. Is the news to blame for what’s going on? Most likely, not. However, their interpretation of critical events contributes to the collective consciousness of the mass public.
Case-in-point: When my sister watched the local news this past week as they broadcast Palestinians protesting war crimes, you wouldn’t know that across the street (and had the cameraman panned the camera or the clip not gotten cut in production), there were Jewish protesters also reacting to what’s going on. The same type of occurrence happened on my local news and I happen to know that there was a Jewish protest because my sister-in-law was there.
The point is is that the story that’s getting portrayed on the news is one that paints a classic good vs. evil picture of what’s going on in the Middle East. There’s no attempt at digging deeper - just a reinforcement of the superficial platitudes that seem to speak to people because as long as someone else is force-feeding them a line like, “60 Palestinians for every 1 Israeli” which everyone from my hairdresser to my husband got fed this week, then why strain our brains?
Don’t worry about this post ending on too much of a didactic note. I’m getting to the headlines that speak volumes to substantiate the concerns I’ve outlined above. I’ll let you decide after the jump if these headlines aren’t without their loaded, emotional persuasion.
Once a staunch populist and Donna Reed-type iconic darling of the Republican party, Alaska governor Sarah Palin officially announced today she is stepping down from office. Public duties aside, Palin had been criticized lately for straying far from her populist roots and spending her time too entangled in the partisan politics du jour. Whatever the case may be and the public transformation-to-come, Palin will not be out of the news for long as she’s established herself as someone who gravitates to the spotlight and for a politician bidding for the White House that may not be a bad thing. Obama took “over-exposed” to new heights in his presidential run, utilizing diverse media channels (print, online, TV) and touring the pop culture circuit quite aggressively. Something tells me Sarah would do well to emulate Obama in this regard. She’s already well on her way to learning (thru some growing pains) how to navigate the treacherous waters of the press. Now she just needs to learn how to tame and master the spin of the internet and work it to her advantage.
Michael Jackson, who was rushed to the hospital today in cardiac arrest, was confirmed dead. He was 50-years-old. And let’s not overlook, one of the Charlie’s Angel’s and 70s icon, Farrah Fawcett lost her battle with cancer earlier today at the young age of 62.
When everything is said and done, and the dust will settle, Al Roker will ask himself, “How did I get here?” It all started on Monday, when these two clowns whom I’ve never heard of before (Well maybe I have heard of them, but never on purpose,) Heidi and Spencer Pratt (A.K.A Speidi,) 
Because it’s never too late to think about 
Seems like Microsoft did all the right things: A 
NBC canned “Medium”
Here’s a revelation: Somehow watching “Oprah” makes people want to eat. The few times I’ve been home early enough to watch the show, it never makes me wanna make a b-line for the fridge, especially when Dr. Oz is on 
amazing decision comes because 
