Thursday, June 28, 2007

Oh he'll entice grown men all right

Brando's grandson scares me. But Versace thinks he'll sell some clothes!

Col. Tigh is still ticked. I am too!

Michael Hogan -- how did this man never appear on US television before Battlestar Galactica? -- is "'not happy about being a Cylon at all'" and Aaron Douglas -- Chief! -- isn't either. "'I had felt it was really marginalizing him,' Douglas said about his character. 'It was taking away all the human stuff.'" But in reconciling himself to the new plot twist, does Douglas inadvertantly reveal something: "'now I don't mind going down in history as one of the Cylon gods.'" A god? Did we know that?

[Via TVTattle.]

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Can't a hard-working girl from Miamisburg just have some fun?

You know how it is. You love your job -- but sometimes it feels so dull. You love your boyfriend -- but his family is another matter. So when someone new comes along and pays you a little attention, it's exciting. You figure you deserve this: a few laughs, nothing serious and no one will ever know. Then Castro and the CIA go and ruin everything.

Happens all the time in the burg.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

"Hello Mister Johnny"

I think New York Magazine has it all wrong. This isn't a "Japanese TV interview." No. It's an opium dream Johnny Depp experienced 5-7 years ago and now -- thanks to some sort of new breakthrough in brain-scan technology -- we can all share in the fun!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

"I mean, the thing is shiny, has an apple logo on it and it TURNS THE INTERNET SIDEWAYS!"

Seriously? The closer we get to June 29 -- at 6pm local time -- the less jazzed I feel. I can't exactly say why. Maybe it's the wise advice from my favorite cable television darling. Maybe it's the off-putting obsessiveness of the camping-out crowd. Or maybe I just don't feel worthy.

I don't know but I'm thisclose to saying, "fuck it. I'm getting a Jitterbug."

Monday, June 18, 2007

Those wacky Georgians

The country not the state has a new TV spot that's just, well, it's startling. Have you seen it? How'd they know to spoof SportsCenter? How'd they know humor would stand out? It seems so youthful -- the antithesis of what these economic development campaigns always are.

And then I read this in the June Monocle: "When Mikeil Saakashvili assumed Georgia's presidency in 2004...he brought with him a team of young supporters. Three years later, they are runnning the country....the country's young politicians -- the majority of whom were educated in the US and Europe -- have a particular finesse in dealing with the West." I'll say. And the Minister of Economy, whose office seems responsible for the TV spot? He's 29.

I'm such a failure.

A week later and this is the best I can do

Former tennis champ Boris Becker is apparently the father of Sanjaya.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Sopranos and cultural warfare: it's all about closure

It's not the ending but how you use the ending to draw conclusions about all those poor bastards who are so obviously inferior to you.

If you loved it, you can save valuable time by following this simple Gawker template: "I'm sure every literal-minded person on earth is gonna be apoplectic that they were denied some sort of visual closure, but it hit exactly the right note for me."

Did you hate it? No problem! There's an argument for you too and it has the added bonus of sounding kinda sorta authentic: "'Maybe if you're from Oklahoma or California you don't care, but if you're from New Jersey, you want some closure.'"

David Chase is a genius!

Friday, June 08, 2007

Good thing it's Friday

Because everyday this week, I woke up and heard this conversation in my head:

Peter: I'm just gonna stop going.
Joanna: When did you decide all that?
Peter: About an hour ago.
Joanna: Oh, really? About an hour ago... so you're gonna get another job?
Peter: I don't think I'd like another job.
Joanna: Well, what are you going to do about money and bills and...
Peter: You know, I've never really liked paying bills. I don't think I'm gonna do that, either.

Probably doesn't mean anything. Like a bad jingle, it's just stuck in my head.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Let's talk about Michelle Wie's wrist. And her endorsement deals.

Did she fake an injury in order to avoid being banned from the rest of this year's LPGA tournaments? Is she alienating sponsors? If she can't win a tournament soon, will her mass appeal suffer? Can Sorenstam take her in a fist fight?

It's just money

Promoting the Fantastic Four sequel: 20th Century Fox "hired the Franklin Mint, a private company that manufactures scale models, statuettes, pocket knives, medallions and collectibles, to place a full-color image of the Silver Surfer, complete with Web address, on the backs of 40,000 California statehood quarters." I was about to agree with Nikke Finke on this -- lame? maybe illegal? -- but if "collectors have paid as much as $149" for these on eBay, maybe not. Probably not. Yeah: definitely not.

"Piaf means the war, the street urchin, the cabaret, the circus, the other war, the casual adultery, the drinking and melodrama and awe for beauty"

Though I fear the Coco Chanel biopics, I will go see La Vie en Rose based solely on this review. My goodness.

And here's a random story: I first learned of Edith Piaf while reading a Sports Illustrated story about Olga Korbut. I was very little. The exact sentence escapes me now but it was something like "this was her Piaf moment" and I spent the next few weeks searching every dictionary in my home, school and library for the definition of "Piaf." (There was no internet then! I walked to school in driving snow! You punks today!) Finally I discovered this was a person -- a woman -- and I think I bought an album of hers in a used bookstore. Pretty eye-opening for a grade schooler. What with the casual adultery and everything.

Monday, June 04, 2007

You no longer have to be embarrassed

Rose wines: they're OK! Although one snide comment in a hot indie movie and all bets are off.

Friday, June 01, 2007

Allen Questrom as Wal-Mart's new board member? Wow

I mean, seriously: wow. Not only does Questrom have "the most enviable résumé in the industry," not only is he "a master of merchandising and retail," but most impressively, Questrom is a favorite of the very knowing Anonymous. This is going to be interesting.