But in episode one?
Kristin from E!:
Ok, so many of you are freaking out (understandably), I must share:As you can probably tell by last night's episode, Michael Vartan is no longer a series regular on ALIAS. Howevah! They are WORKING ON getting Michael Vartan back for 1-3 episodes this season ... but so far, no deal. As I understand it, the ball is in his court. I have no idea as to HOW they would bring it back ... but remember, ANYTHING can (and does!) happen on Alias, and JJ's words just keep ringing through my head: "The Vaughn storyline is NOT what it seems."Still, I miss him.
Friday, September 30
Thursday, September 29
LOST: Episode 2 Recap
From EW:
When you write TV Watch columns, it's helpful to take notes while you view the show you're writing about. But that can be a total pain in the keister when it comes to Lost, because I live in fear of missing some scintillating scintilla of detail every time I look away to peck out observations on my laptop — bits like the symbol on Desmond's jumpsuit (a swan — what does that mean?) or the name of the candy bars that Kate scarfed and pocketed (Apollo — significant?) or the stuffed animal Michael gave Walt as a parting gift those many years ago (a polar bear! Hmmmm).
Still, I manage to take notes, and the first one I made about last night's episode was ''treading water.'' I was merely trying to describe the first scene, which had rafters Michael and Sawyer struggling to swim their way to what was left of their getaway vessel following the encounter with those scruffy-looking, child-abducting pirates in last season's finale. Yet ''treading water'' would prove to be the only note I really needed to make about the second episode of Lost's sophomore season. There wasn't much forward movement in ''Adrift,'' which may have been the ironic intention. If it was, then neat for Lost's clever, punny writers — but disappointing for at least this fan.
Am I being too hard on the series, especially in light of last week's crackerjack outing, chockablock with suspense and intrigue? Maybe. Maybe Lost's brain trust was worried that after getting an episode overstuffed with so many things to think about, we needed a week to catch our breath before pushing deeper into more wonderful weirdness. If so, then they forget that we had all summer to recharge the batteries in our thinking caps. We're ready and rarin' to go, dammit!
But instead, we got Michael (looking noticeably more buff this season) and Sawyer (upstaged yet again by his hair) on the raft, screaming, ''Walt!'' and ''Jin!'' into the inky night, and then screaming at each other over who was to blame for the Others' snatching Walt and torching the raft. All of it grew really, really tedious very, very quickly. I even got the sense that the actors and directors weren't quite sure what to make of these scenes and their odd mix of suspense and dark comedy. Example: Sawyer digs a bullet out of his arm (proving once again he's some I-don't-need-nobody tough guy), then sarcastically asks Michael for a Band-Aid, then faints. The moment was cute yet predictable, and not very inspired. All of the bitchy bantering took place while a hungry shark cruised around them or eyeballed them from below. Sometimes Michael and Sawyer seemed rather alarmed about the prospect of being eaten. Other times they seemed to forget that Son of Jaws was in the vicinity. On the whole, the scenes were unconvincing and anticlimactic. They had me recalling that Walter Matthau-Jack Lemmon movie Out to Sea, which I'm pretty sure is a sign of something...bad.
Even more disappointing was Michael's flashback story, which must rank among the poorest and most clumsily integrated flashbacks we've seen so far in Lost. Here's what we learned about Michael: nothing. Some legal contretemps between Michael and his ex over custody of Walt; some grandstanding by Michael that he would never give up on being a father to his son; blah blah blah. Didn't we kinda already know this? Sure, maybe we never saw it dramatized before, but we knew it, anyway, and we felt it, too, so all of what we saw was essentially warmed over and redundant. I was really looking forward to learning something new about Michael. I didn't. Okay, the polar bear thing was intriguing, and I'm going to give Lost's writers the benefit of the doubt and believe that it wasn't an empty gesture, some desperate, meaningless ploy to juice a dead story line.
''Adrift'' did, however, have its moments, and all of them were in the Hatch. True, not a lot of forward movement here, either. In fact, the episode took us back in time and revealed what happened to Locke and Kate after they descended into the Hatch, following their story strands to the Mexican-standoff moment that ended last week's episode. Terry O'Quinn (Locke) proved once again that he was robbed of a Best Supporting Actor Emmy — I loved the kid-in-a-candy-store look on his face when he stepped inside Desmond's underground abode; I loved his game attempt to play along with Desmond's creepy ''Are you him?'' questions (recalling ''Is it safe?'' from Marathon Man); and I loved the shadings and unspoken meanings in his hesitancy to press the execute button on Desmond's curiously old computer (''I haven't seen one of these in 20 years!'') after he was instructed to input a string of numbers all of us know to be Hurley's cursed Lotto digits. Thank you, Terry, and thank you, Locke and Desmond, for salvaging the first mediocre episode of the season. I only wish it hadn't come so soon!
Random observations and questions:
1. Your theory on the function of Desmond's computer: now.
2. Your thoughts on why Locke took off his shoes when he entered the Hatch: now.
3. Your reaction to my contention that Kate wiggling out of her bonds represented some of the best acting Evangeline Lilly has ever done on this show: now.
4. Your response to my suspicion that a multitude of drooling fanboys ''needed some time alone'' after watching Kate and her cleavage crawl through Desmond's air ducts: now
5. Hurley's numbers, when added up, equal 108. That number is also included in Desmond's mural. Where else have we seen 108 before? [Oops! We typed 180. Thanks for the catch, readers.]
6. Locke says that 43 people survived the crash. The deaths of Boone and Arzt take the number down to 41. Assuming that Walt isn't dead, and adding in the survivor that will be discovered in next week's episode (Ana Lucia), that bumps the number up to 42 — the last number in Hurley's Lotto string. Is my math fuzzy? If not, am I onto something? And if so, can you tell me what it is?
7. So, uh...what did one snowman say to the other snowman?
When you write TV Watch columns, it's helpful to take notes while you view the show you're writing about. But that can be a total pain in the keister when it comes to Lost, because I live in fear of missing some scintillating scintilla of detail every time I look away to peck out observations on my laptop — bits like the symbol on Desmond's jumpsuit (a swan — what does that mean?) or the name of the candy bars that Kate scarfed and pocketed (Apollo — significant?) or the stuffed animal Michael gave Walt as a parting gift those many years ago (a polar bear! Hmmmm).
Still, I manage to take notes, and the first one I made about last night's episode was ''treading water.'' I was merely trying to describe the first scene, which had rafters Michael and Sawyer struggling to swim their way to what was left of their getaway vessel following the encounter with those scruffy-looking, child-abducting pirates in last season's finale. Yet ''treading water'' would prove to be the only note I really needed to make about the second episode of Lost's sophomore season. There wasn't much forward movement in ''Adrift,'' which may have been the ironic intention. If it was, then neat for Lost's clever, punny writers — but disappointing for at least this fan.
Am I being too hard on the series, especially in light of last week's crackerjack outing, chockablock with suspense and intrigue? Maybe. Maybe Lost's brain trust was worried that after getting an episode overstuffed with so many things to think about, we needed a week to catch our breath before pushing deeper into more wonderful weirdness. If so, then they forget that we had all summer to recharge the batteries in our thinking caps. We're ready and rarin' to go, dammit!
But instead, we got Michael (looking noticeably more buff this season) and Sawyer (upstaged yet again by his hair) on the raft, screaming, ''Walt!'' and ''Jin!'' into the inky night, and then screaming at each other over who was to blame for the Others' snatching Walt and torching the raft. All of it grew really, really tedious very, very quickly. I even got the sense that the actors and directors weren't quite sure what to make of these scenes and their odd mix of suspense and dark comedy. Example: Sawyer digs a bullet out of his arm (proving once again he's some I-don't-need-nobody tough guy), then sarcastically asks Michael for a Band-Aid, then faints. The moment was cute yet predictable, and not very inspired. All of the bitchy bantering took place while a hungry shark cruised around them or eyeballed them from below. Sometimes Michael and Sawyer seemed rather alarmed about the prospect of being eaten. Other times they seemed to forget that Son of Jaws was in the vicinity. On the whole, the scenes were unconvincing and anticlimactic. They had me recalling that Walter Matthau-Jack Lemmon movie Out to Sea, which I'm pretty sure is a sign of something...bad.
Even more disappointing was Michael's flashback story, which must rank among the poorest and most clumsily integrated flashbacks we've seen so far in Lost. Here's what we learned about Michael: nothing. Some legal contretemps between Michael and his ex over custody of Walt; some grandstanding by Michael that he would never give up on being a father to his son; blah blah blah. Didn't we kinda already know this? Sure, maybe we never saw it dramatized before, but we knew it, anyway, and we felt it, too, so all of what we saw was essentially warmed over and redundant. I was really looking forward to learning something new about Michael. I didn't. Okay, the polar bear thing was intriguing, and I'm going to give Lost's writers the benefit of the doubt and believe that it wasn't an empty gesture, some desperate, meaningless ploy to juice a dead story line.
''Adrift'' did, however, have its moments, and all of them were in the Hatch. True, not a lot of forward movement here, either. In fact, the episode took us back in time and revealed what happened to Locke and Kate after they descended into the Hatch, following their story strands to the Mexican-standoff moment that ended last week's episode. Terry O'Quinn (Locke) proved once again that he was robbed of a Best Supporting Actor Emmy — I loved the kid-in-a-candy-store look on his face when he stepped inside Desmond's underground abode; I loved his game attempt to play along with Desmond's creepy ''Are you him?'' questions (recalling ''Is it safe?'' from Marathon Man); and I loved the shadings and unspoken meanings in his hesitancy to press the execute button on Desmond's curiously old computer (''I haven't seen one of these in 20 years!'') after he was instructed to input a string of numbers all of us know to be Hurley's cursed Lotto digits. Thank you, Terry, and thank you, Locke and Desmond, for salvaging the first mediocre episode of the season. I only wish it hadn't come so soon!
Random observations and questions:
1. Your theory on the function of Desmond's computer: now.
2. Your thoughts on why Locke took off his shoes when he entered the Hatch: now.
3. Your reaction to my contention that Kate wiggling out of her bonds represented some of the best acting Evangeline Lilly has ever done on this show: now.
4. Your response to my suspicion that a multitude of drooling fanboys ''needed some time alone'' after watching Kate and her cleavage crawl through Desmond's air ducts: now
5. Hurley's numbers, when added up, equal 108. That number is also included in Desmond's mural. Where else have we seen 108 before? [Oops! We typed 180. Thanks for the catch, readers.]
6. Locke says that 43 people survived the crash. The deaths of Boone and Arzt take the number down to 41. Assuming that Walt isn't dead, and adding in the survivor that will be discovered in next week's episode (Ana Lucia), that bumps the number up to 42 — the last number in Hurley's Lotto string. Is my math fuzzy? If not, am I onto something? And if so, can you tell me what it is?
7. So, uh...what did one snowman say to the other snowman?
Wednesday, September 28
LOST Snippet
The second episode was supposed to be Sawyer-centric, they changed it to be one that focuses on Michael, because "it goes along better with what's going on in the show." This week's episode is "more of Michael's backstory. You know, the first episode, we weren't there, so then it just picks up right where we left off, so it's mostly about Walt."
Tuesday, September 27
Someone shoot me...
This article is about March of the Penguins:
Recent reports indicated that conservative "family values" groups have been instrumental in keeping the film alive at the box office, booking large blocks of seats and asserting that the film provides proof of "intelligent design." On the other hand London Times film writer Caitlin Moran observed last week, "To be honest, this is good news. If American Christians want to go public on the fact that they're now morally guided by penguins, at least we know where we all stand."
I love Caitlin Moran.
Recent reports indicated that conservative "family values" groups have been instrumental in keeping the film alive at the box office, booking large blocks of seats and asserting that the film provides proof of "intelligent design." On the other hand London Times film writer Caitlin Moran observed last week, "To be honest, this is good news. If American Christians want to go public on the fact that they're now morally guided by penguins, at least we know where we all stand."
I love Caitlin Moran.
Another concert
Sunday I went to The Hollywood Bowl. Got to see Dead Can Dance with the LA Philharmonic (think Pink Floyd from the Middle East). They weren't the highlight, even though they were the headliner. The openers, Nouvelle Vague, were amazing. Two female singers dancing like they were in a prohibition underground bar were so charasmatic and charming. "Too Drunk to Fuck" was a highlight, as both girls stumbled around stage with a percussive background. I'm going to buy their CD.
Kaiser Chiefs
I saw the Kaiser Chiefs, from Missoula, Montana (or at least so the English band claimed), at a private Rolling Stone Magazine concert at The Avalon in Hollywood. First of all, loved the venue. Being in the VIP balcony with free booze was a nice touch. But that didn't matter when the Kaiser Chiefs hit the stage. We all immediately ran down to the ground floor/general admission area, hugged the stage, and jumped up and down the entire show. It was like seeing The Clash in the 70s. So much energy, and a tight band. Great show.
Late Night Bush Bash
Thanks to DailyKos for compiling this...
"Bush is keeping track of Hurricane Rita as it hits his home state of Texas. That's Bush's worst nightmare: an electric chair with no power."--Jay Leno
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"Hurricane Rita is supposed to make landfall in Texas, which is good for Barbara Bush because she can insult survivors closer to home." --Bill Maher
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"Yesterday President Bush made his fifth visit to the area that received the most damage from Hurricane Katrina. In other words, the White House." --Conan O'Brien
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"The president believes the government should be limited not in size, Jon, but in effectiveness. In terms of effectiveness, this is the most limited government we've ever had."--Daily Show correspondent Rob Corddry
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"Now here's some sad information coming out of Washington. According to reports, President Bush may be drinking again. And I thought, `Well, why not? He's got everybody else drinking.'"--David Letterman
"Bush is keeping track of Hurricane Rita as it hits his home state of Texas. That's Bush's worst nightmare: an electric chair with no power."--Jay Leno
-
"Hurricane Rita is supposed to make landfall in Texas, which is good for Barbara Bush because she can insult survivors closer to home." --Bill Maher
-
"Yesterday President Bush made his fifth visit to the area that received the most damage from Hurricane Katrina. In other words, the White House." --Conan O'Brien
-
"The president believes the government should be limited not in size, Jon, but in effectiveness. In terms of effectiveness, this is the most limited government we've ever had."--Daily Show correspondent Rob Corddry
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"Now here's some sad information coming out of Washington. According to reports, President Bush may be drinking again. And I thought, `Well, why not? He's got everybody else drinking.'"--David Letterman
Amazing Race
The Amazing Race 8 debuts tonight at 9 p.m. ET, and changes the structure of its teams for the first time. Families of four will race against each other around the world—or, perhaps, around a smaller area, as reports suggest. The debut is two hours long.
Monday, September 26
Ailment-A-Go-Go
Hmmm... I am an Osbourne and I am desperately in need of a publicity fix. What ailment shall I announce today??? Hmmmm... Hey! I know! Let's go with Bulimia!!! We haven't done that one yet!!!!
Why I Can't Wait To See U2 Nov. 2
Pioneer Press:
"Elevation" hit with breathtaking force, while "Beautiful Day" and "With or Without You" were so powerful, grown men started to weep, and it nearly felt like the entire Target Center levitated an inch or two off the floor.
Friday, September 23
Oh yeah, The Emmies
I went to the EW Emmy Party last Saturday night. It was all right. At a bar called, oh, I forget... um.... I'm literally typing as I think.... oh well. I saw lotsa celebs. The OC, Nip/Tuck, Arrested Development, the guys from Desperate Housewives, Frankie Muniz (freaky as all hell, as one would expect). THE CABANA CLUB, that's what it was called. Cool space. My friends and I just stood by the door so we could see all the celebs parade in. It was so obvious we were stalkers... but the funny part was some waiter literally brought a table and sat it down in front of us. I think it was to make us "less obvious stalkers." Fun time.
The Feder-letus Has Left The Hospital!
Alert! The spawn of Britney and K-Fed has reportedly been taken home. Again... he has been taken home from the hospital. Someone alert the paparazzi!
Random Reality Notes
John O'Hurley won the dance-off. Big surprise.
Mark Burnett is negotiating a second season of RockStar. What band might be involved is still under consideration. (Van Halen?)
Project Jay may turn into a 12-show series (Jay McCarroll from Project Runway... remember him?)
The following celeb-wanna-bees/has-beens are shopping around for their own piece of the pie: Nelly, Tom Sizemore, Robert Blake and Toni Ferrari (bug-eyed wacko woman from Paradise Hotel)
Mark Burnett is negotiating a second season of RockStar. What band might be involved is still under consideration. (Van Halen?)
Project Jay may turn into a 12-show series (Jay McCarroll from Project Runway... remember him?)
The following celeb-wanna-bees/has-beens are shopping around for their own piece of the pie: Nelly, Tom Sizemore, Robert Blake and Toni Ferrari (bug-eyed wacko woman from Paradise Hotel)
Survivah
Recap from EW:
Memo to Gary Hogeboom: You're busted. Soooooo busted. Kinda like that time in the 1983 NFC championship game when Dexter Manley came barreling through the line and tipped your pass into the waiting arms of Darryl Grant, who proceeded to rumble into the end zone for the clinching score, sending the Redskins to the Super Bowl. Yeah, kinda like that. You thought you could waltz into Survivor without anyone realizing that you're a former NFL quarterback.
Well, Gary, let me introduce you to Mark Burnett. You see, he's a cagey bastard. He loves to set people up. Seriously, this is how he gets his kicks — that and by watching Touched by an Angel repeats with Roma Downey. Did you really think he would let you get off so easy? Of course not. That's why he threw Danni, the sports radio talk-show host into the mix. She recognized you and blabbed about it, and now what do you do?
I actually got into an argument with Jenna Morasca about this on the set of Survivor Live last week. She thought the best thing to do was to come clean. I told her she was an idiot. No way should Gary come clean. Now he has to lie, lie, and lie some more. It will probably hold up within his own tribe, but if Danni and Gary both make it past the merge, things could get very interesting.
We now interrupt this Survivor TV Watch to bring you the following news flash: Rafe has still not climbed up the ladder in the reward challenge. He's holding on for dear life, yet denies rumors that he is, in fact, Arnold Poindexter from the Revenge of the Nerds franchise. We now return you to your regularly scheduled column....
I've got to give it to challenge producer John Kirhoffer for that tug-of-war immunity battle. It had people wrestling in the mud. It had women's clothes falling off. It had Bobby Jon impersonating a howler monkey. (All hail the return of the Manimal!) But the hand that giveth also taketh away, Mr. Kirhoffer, because there is one thing I did not like about the challenge — the fact that it was deemed a tie after only 15 minutes and switched from a team to an individual battle. Why? One of the best challenges from Palau was that one where the teams were chasing each other around a circle while carrying 20-pound bags on their backs. It took forever — and it was riveting. I would have loved to see this one play out for longer.
You know what? I lied! Just like Hogeboom! There are actually two things I didn't like about the challenge — the other being the fact that they did only three head-to-head individual matchups and allowed competitors like Judd and Jamie to do it twice. I would have liked to see all the contestants mix it up instead of just four of them. (Speaking of which, am I the only one shocked that Jed Clampett — uh...I mean Brandon — beat Jerry O'Connell — uh...I mean Jamie — so easily?) All these miscues turned a potentially great challenge into a merely good one.
So after getting shut out 3-0 in the fight for the ugly immunity statue, Yaxhá had to figure out who to vote off. (By the way, I hear Bobby Jon was so confused by winning that he just went to tribal council anyway — sort of like a homing pigeon.) All that early talk about ousting Stephenie drove me a little bonkers — not because I'm such a huge fan, but rather because voting off your strongest female member first thing is moronic. (Remember what happened to Ulong when they got rid of Jolanda? If not, you can ask Stephenie all about how that worked out for them.) Calmer heads prevailed, and it came down to Morgan versus Lydia. Hmmm...the magician's assistant versus the fishmonger — that's a tough call. But apparently a magician is not the only person able to make his assistant disappear, as Morgan went away in a puff of smoke (or, more accurately, Mark Burnett's blue lights of death).
Although I thought Morgan was hot, I have to sort of agree that Lydia didn't deserve to go. I didn't particularly see her hurting the team in challenges, and I thought her little minnow trap was cute. Personally, I would have thought that a wilderness guide like Rafe would be the one to come up with such inventive ways to catch food, but he must have still been trying to climb up that stupid ladder. Oh, that's right — he was busy eating ants. By my calculations, even if he had eaten all 200 of those things, that would still add up to approximately .000000000000001 grams of protein. I think he actually expanded more energy chewing them than they gave him in his stomach. Now let's see how the rest of the tribe stomachs losing. My man Hogeboom certainly has a lot of experience in that department.
Memo to Gary Hogeboom: You're busted. Soooooo busted. Kinda like that time in the 1983 NFC championship game when Dexter Manley came barreling through the line and tipped your pass into the waiting arms of Darryl Grant, who proceeded to rumble into the end zone for the clinching score, sending the Redskins to the Super Bowl. Yeah, kinda like that. You thought you could waltz into Survivor without anyone realizing that you're a former NFL quarterback.
Well, Gary, let me introduce you to Mark Burnett. You see, he's a cagey bastard. He loves to set people up. Seriously, this is how he gets his kicks — that and by watching Touched by an Angel repeats with Roma Downey. Did you really think he would let you get off so easy? Of course not. That's why he threw Danni, the sports radio talk-show host into the mix. She recognized you and blabbed about it, and now what do you do?
I actually got into an argument with Jenna Morasca about this on the set of Survivor Live last week. She thought the best thing to do was to come clean. I told her she was an idiot. No way should Gary come clean. Now he has to lie, lie, and lie some more. It will probably hold up within his own tribe, but if Danni and Gary both make it past the merge, things could get very interesting.
We now interrupt this Survivor TV Watch to bring you the following news flash: Rafe has still not climbed up the ladder in the reward challenge. He's holding on for dear life, yet denies rumors that he is, in fact, Arnold Poindexter from the Revenge of the Nerds franchise. We now return you to your regularly scheduled column....
I've got to give it to challenge producer John Kirhoffer for that tug-of-war immunity battle. It had people wrestling in the mud. It had women's clothes falling off. It had Bobby Jon impersonating a howler monkey. (All hail the return of the Manimal!) But the hand that giveth also taketh away, Mr. Kirhoffer, because there is one thing I did not like about the challenge — the fact that it was deemed a tie after only 15 minutes and switched from a team to an individual battle. Why? One of the best challenges from Palau was that one where the teams were chasing each other around a circle while carrying 20-pound bags on their backs. It took forever — and it was riveting. I would have loved to see this one play out for longer.
You know what? I lied! Just like Hogeboom! There are actually two things I didn't like about the challenge — the other being the fact that they did only three head-to-head individual matchups and allowed competitors like Judd and Jamie to do it twice. I would have liked to see all the contestants mix it up instead of just four of them. (Speaking of which, am I the only one shocked that Jed Clampett — uh...I mean Brandon — beat Jerry O'Connell — uh...I mean Jamie — so easily?) All these miscues turned a potentially great challenge into a merely good one.
So after getting shut out 3-0 in the fight for the ugly immunity statue, Yaxhá had to figure out who to vote off. (By the way, I hear Bobby Jon was so confused by winning that he just went to tribal council anyway — sort of like a homing pigeon.) All that early talk about ousting Stephenie drove me a little bonkers — not because I'm such a huge fan, but rather because voting off your strongest female member first thing is moronic. (Remember what happened to Ulong when they got rid of Jolanda? If not, you can ask Stephenie all about how that worked out for them.) Calmer heads prevailed, and it came down to Morgan versus Lydia. Hmmm...the magician's assistant versus the fishmonger — that's a tough call. But apparently a magician is not the only person able to make his assistant disappear, as Morgan went away in a puff of smoke (or, more accurately, Mark Burnett's blue lights of death).
Although I thought Morgan was hot, I have to sort of agree that Lydia didn't deserve to go. I didn't particularly see her hurting the team in challenges, and I thought her little minnow trap was cute. Personally, I would have thought that a wilderness guide like Rafe would be the one to come up with such inventive ways to catch food, but he must have still been trying to climb up that stupid ladder. Oh, that's right — he was busy eating ants. By my calculations, even if he had eaten all 200 of those things, that would still add up to approximately .000000000000001 grams of protein. I think he actually expanded more energy chewing them than they gave him in his stomach. Now let's see how the rest of the tribe stomachs losing. My man Hogeboom certainly has a lot of experience in that department.
Thursday, September 22
Mischa Barton Wears Sixth Ugliest Dress Ever
A Socialite's Life is a very funny blog. And it's right... that outfit is fugly.
Raw Story
It's a great, liberal news site. No tin-foil hats (for the most parts), just stuff you don't read in many other places. Here's their morning headline:
"Shocker: Ex-President Carter says Gore won 2000 vote: Developing..."
"Shocker: Ex-President Carter says Gore won 2000 vote: Developing..."
If the National Enquirer says it's true...
It must be true.
"Bush Has Fallen Off The Wagon"
He's drinking again. Seriously, the rumor is Laura Bush found him drinking shots by himself at his ranch in Crawford.
"Bush Has Fallen Off The Wagon"
He's drinking again. Seriously, the rumor is Laura Bush found him drinking shots by himself at his ranch in Crawford.
Lost: Season Premiere
Oh My God!!!!! Most. Amazing. Television. Show. Ever!!!! I was completely riveted the entire time. What the hell is with this Desmond guy? How did he end up on the island with Jack? Or... how did Jack end up on the island with him? Didya notice the mural number, 108, was the sum of The Numbers? Guy who died in ER last name was Rutherford... hmmmm..... Lots of good stuff to sit and analyze until next week, that's for sure!!
Here's the recap, courtesy of EW:
Getting reacquainted can sometimes be challenging. Take this column, for example. How exactly should I welcome you to a new season of recapitulating each new episode of ABC's Emmy Award-winning drama Lost? Should I assume we all know each other and cut to the jokey shorthand (''Ethan'' = ''Tom Cruise's cousin''; ''Hatch'' = ''septic tank'') and windy analysis (''Lost is an allegory for spiritual anxiety in our post-catastrophe culture''; ''Lost isn't about knowing the answers — it's about our profound discomfort with mystery'')? Or should I assume we are actually meeting for the first time and therefore restate, for the record, my particulars (Jeff Jensen; senior writer; slow typist) and reason for being here (I dig Lost, and, uh, I was asked)? Tough choice, especially for someone as uncertain and awkward as me.
Fortunately, our common bond — Lost — had no such difficulty last night. It picked up right where it left off last season without much of a reminder of who the Others were or why Jack felt the castaways needed to hide from them in the Hatch. (Then again, maybe the preceding hour's Destination: Lost served that function. I didn't watch all of it, but I did see the part where they blurred out the cover of Walt's comic book — what was up with that?) One of the things I loved about the bold, baffling, and brilliant season premiere was its sense of self-confidence. In fact, was that a little attitude I detected in the subtext? Not for nothing, I think, did Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof choose a blinking computer cursor and the song ''Make Your Own Kind of Music'' to open the show. Methinks the tune has multiple meanings, and perhaps one of them is aimed squarely at those who spent the summer clacking on their keyboards about last season's allegedly dissatisfying season finale and demanding hard and fast answers to the mysteries of the Hatch, the Monster, the Others, et. al. The rejoinder from Lost: We make the music, you listen; please, dance with us — but we'll do the leading, thank you very much.
My hunch is that many of you may disagree with my raves about the season premiere. My hunch is you're kinda ticked that we didn't get any resolution about the fate of rafters Michael, Jin, and Sawyer. Heck, we didn't even get a scene with them. We only caught a fleeting glimpse of Walt, dripping wet and mouthing...something. But he could have been just a hallucination, too. (And with that, Shannon joins Jack, Sawyer, and Boone in the show's People Who Go Into the Jungle and See Weird Things Club.) And then, there's that wacky Hatch, a bunker-cum-time capsule tricked out with outdated technology. A Jules Verne periscope. A 1960s hi-fi. Some 1980s PCs. And a couple of those reel-to-reel fridge-box-shaped data processors presumably on loan from Adam West's Batcave. (Maybe they can spit out a punch card that could answer all of the show's riddle-me-this mysteries.) There was also a mural (TiVo heads, begin geeking out...now), a supermagnetic wall, a geodesic dome, and, most important, a guy named Desmond who injects strange serum into his arm with an ouchy-looking air-pressured thingy.
In a nutshell, Lost's season premiere was a parade of teasing tidbits and selective storytelling choices that no doubt could be deemed manipulative and mean by a cynic. My faith in the show, however, wasn't thrown into crisis but renewed and affirmed. I am convinced that nothing in Lost is arbitrary, everything will be revealed in time, and when it is, it's gonna knock us on our ass.
But even better, the whole enigmatic enterprise seemed grounded in rich layers of meaning, thanks in large part to the backstory that revealed how Jack met his ex-wife (Ed's Julie Bowen, whose car-crash makeup made her look like Charlize Theron in Monster for most of the show). For me, the beauty of Lost's artistry lies in the interplay between character backstories and island dramas, and the way they commingle to precipitate larger meanings. And so, Jack's Saul-to-Paul journey from cold, jaded pragmatist to hopeful, crusading humanist in his flashback (aided by the stranger-angel figure of Hatch-dweller Desmond) (what the heck?) adds depth to his rejection of Locke's assertion that we are all destiny's puppets. But those elements also combine to offer an explanation for the desperate edge to Jack's messiah complex: He's driven to producing miracles to prop up himself up with meaning. Jack may be the show's avatar for reason, but he's also the embodiment of reason's shortcomings.
Here's the recap, courtesy of EW:
Getting reacquainted can sometimes be challenging. Take this column, for example. How exactly should I welcome you to a new season of recapitulating each new episode of ABC's Emmy Award-winning drama Lost? Should I assume we all know each other and cut to the jokey shorthand (''Ethan'' = ''Tom Cruise's cousin''; ''Hatch'' = ''septic tank'') and windy analysis (''Lost is an allegory for spiritual anxiety in our post-catastrophe culture''; ''Lost isn't about knowing the answers — it's about our profound discomfort with mystery'')? Or should I assume we are actually meeting for the first time and therefore restate, for the record, my particulars (Jeff Jensen; senior writer; slow typist) and reason for being here (I dig Lost, and, uh, I was asked)? Tough choice, especially for someone as uncertain and awkward as me.
Fortunately, our common bond — Lost — had no such difficulty last night. It picked up right where it left off last season without much of a reminder of who the Others were or why Jack felt the castaways needed to hide from them in the Hatch. (Then again, maybe the preceding hour's Destination: Lost served that function. I didn't watch all of it, but I did see the part where they blurred out the cover of Walt's comic book — what was up with that?) One of the things I loved about the bold, baffling, and brilliant season premiere was its sense of self-confidence. In fact, was that a little attitude I detected in the subtext? Not for nothing, I think, did Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof choose a blinking computer cursor and the song ''Make Your Own Kind of Music'' to open the show. Methinks the tune has multiple meanings, and perhaps one of them is aimed squarely at those who spent the summer clacking on their keyboards about last season's allegedly dissatisfying season finale and demanding hard and fast answers to the mysteries of the Hatch, the Monster, the Others, et. al. The rejoinder from Lost: We make the music, you listen; please, dance with us — but we'll do the leading, thank you very much.
My hunch is that many of you may disagree with my raves about the season premiere. My hunch is you're kinda ticked that we didn't get any resolution about the fate of rafters Michael, Jin, and Sawyer. Heck, we didn't even get a scene with them. We only caught a fleeting glimpse of Walt, dripping wet and mouthing...something. But he could have been just a hallucination, too. (And with that, Shannon joins Jack, Sawyer, and Boone in the show's People Who Go Into the Jungle and See Weird Things Club.) And then, there's that wacky Hatch, a bunker-cum-time capsule tricked out with outdated technology. A Jules Verne periscope. A 1960s hi-fi. Some 1980s PCs. And a couple of those reel-to-reel fridge-box-shaped data processors presumably on loan from Adam West's Batcave. (Maybe they can spit out a punch card that could answer all of the show's riddle-me-this mysteries.) There was also a mural (TiVo heads, begin geeking out...now), a supermagnetic wall, a geodesic dome, and, most important, a guy named Desmond who injects strange serum into his arm with an ouchy-looking air-pressured thingy.
In a nutshell, Lost's season premiere was a parade of teasing tidbits and selective storytelling choices that no doubt could be deemed manipulative and mean by a cynic. My faith in the show, however, wasn't thrown into crisis but renewed and affirmed. I am convinced that nothing in Lost is arbitrary, everything will be revealed in time, and when it is, it's gonna knock us on our ass.
But even better, the whole enigmatic enterprise seemed grounded in rich layers of meaning, thanks in large part to the backstory that revealed how Jack met his ex-wife (Ed's Julie Bowen, whose car-crash makeup made her look like Charlize Theron in Monster for most of the show). For me, the beauty of Lost's artistry lies in the interplay between character backstories and island dramas, and the way they commingle to precipitate larger meanings. And so, Jack's Saul-to-Paul journey from cold, jaded pragmatist to hopeful, crusading humanist in his flashback (aided by the stranger-angel figure of Hatch-dweller Desmond) (what the heck?) adds depth to his rejection of Locke's assertion that we are all destiny's puppets. But those elements also combine to offer an explanation for the desperate edge to Jack's messiah complex: He's driven to producing miracles to prop up himself up with meaning. Jack may be the show's avatar for reason, but he's also the embodiment of reason's shortcomings.
Wednesday, September 21
Bill Maher Shits on Tucker Carlson
CARLSON: Almost aesthetic level, aren’t you repulsed by Clinton’s never ending self-righteousness? The other day, over the weekend, he says essentially, I would have done a better job responding to Katrina because I am a better person, great guy, look at me, great administration. Doesn’t the constant bragging make you want to throw up?
MAHER: You know what makes me want to throw up, seeing dead bodies floating in New Orleans, that makes me want to throw up.
That kind of stuff that would not have happened under Bill Clinton. You can’t tell me that you think that FEMA would have not been a completely different agency and that Clinton would have been all over this situation from minute one like white on rice.
You don’t think that’s who Bill Clinton is? He would not have slept from the moment this hurricane started to hit until we could do the best we could with the situation.
You’re angry at his self-righteousness at a time when there are hundreds and hundreds of dead bodies that are on the tab of George Bush? Why don’t you focus your anger on the guy who really deserves it?
MAHER: You know what makes me want to throw up, seeing dead bodies floating in New Orleans, that makes me want to throw up.
That kind of stuff that would not have happened under Bill Clinton. You can’t tell me that you think that FEMA would have not been a completely different agency and that Clinton would have been all over this situation from minute one like white on rice.
You don’t think that’s who Bill Clinton is? He would not have slept from the moment this hurricane started to hit until we could do the best we could with the situation.
You’re angry at his self-righteousness at a time when there are hundreds and hundreds of dead bodies that are on the tab of George Bush? Why don’t you focus your anger on the guy who really deserves it?
The Comeback
Shit. I know more people live in Defiance than watched this show, but HBO cancelled it.
Yikes.
SAN FRANCISCO – Gay rights activists plan to air a television commercial this week that compares Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's forthcoming veto of a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in California to the segregationist policies of former Alabama Gov. George Wallace.
Kitchen Confidential
Did you watch? Cute, eh? And quick. No time to breath. I hope the pace keeps up in future eps.
That's Garbage
Garbage, the band, is breaking up. I was just telling a friend how much I like Garbage the other day.
The Emmy's
Everyone Loves Raymond? Again? Doris Roberts? Again? And... sorry, but I really cannot stand Ray's brother on the show (I've already forgotten the character and actor's name).
But LOST!!!!! That is pretty damn cool. And Arrested Development for writing. "I have to remind you that this is the second year that you've awarded us for a show you won't watch." Brilliant. (I hope you watched on Monday - so funny.)
Favorite Moment: Actress that I don't know from Lackawannaheynana Blues losing her acceptance speech in her cleavage.
But LOST!!!!! That is pretty damn cool. And Arrested Development for writing. "I have to remind you that this is the second year that you've awarded us for a show you won't watch." Brilliant. (I hope you watched on Monday - so funny.)
Favorite Moment: Actress that I don't know from Lackawannaheynana Blues losing her acceptance speech in her cleavage.
Nip/Tuck
Okay, this show is 100% watchable and I look forward to each new episode. That said, there were some really bad creative decisions made last night by the director. Too much fading. And what the fuck was up with people disappearing?
Who do you think The Carver is? I'm guessing: Sean and Julia's son.
Also, cool idea to show movie trailers instead of commercials. Loved it! Totally tivo-proof! Can't wait for all of them (especially Memoirs of a Geisha and All the President's Men). Still not sure what Freedomland is all about, but it has Julianne Moore.
Who do you think The Carver is? I'm guessing: Sean and Julia's son.
Also, cool idea to show movie trailers instead of commercials. Loved it! Totally tivo-proof! Can't wait for all of them (especially Memoirs of a Geisha and All the President's Men). Still not sure what Freedomland is all about, but it has Julianne Moore.
6 Ways to Love Jude Law
Sienna made a list of 6 things Jude must do before she'll marry him:
1) Never to be unfaithful again
2) To stay away from ex-wife Sadie and her friends
3) To romance her again before considering marriage
4) To stop losing his temper
5) To let her make her own career choices
6) To let her see her friends when she wants
Sounds like fun, Jude.
1) Never to be unfaithful again
2) To stay away from ex-wife Sadie and her friends
3) To romance her again before considering marriage
4) To stop losing his temper
5) To let her make her own career choices
6) To let her see her friends when she wants
Sounds like fun, Jude.
Tuesday, September 20
Movie Premiere - Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio
I attended a private screening of the Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio last night. I would love to say I got to walk in on the red carpet, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Those in attendance were mainly the Ryan family and their close friends. Others who came were there on behalf of their company or because they had a connection to the movie.
The film itself is really quite moving. Rather bittersweet, really. You find yourself cheering for Evelyn and secretly hating her husband while worrying for their children and their futures. All the while, you are aware that this is a true story. This really happened. It's exciting and scary and bright and dark all at the same time. It's almost unbelieveable that this woman could have won so many contests and that much of the time, the prizes she won would be exactly what they needed.
Clearly the film depicts an era that has long since passed. It's kind of interesting to watch and realize how different things are nowdays.....
in many different respects, actually.
If you get a chance, please don't miss this movie. Julianne Moore & Woody Harrelson do an outstanding job of telling the story of the Ryan family.
The film itself is really quite moving. Rather bittersweet, really. You find yourself cheering for Evelyn and secretly hating her husband while worrying for their children and their futures. All the while, you are aware that this is a true story. This really happened. It's exciting and scary and bright and dark all at the same time. It's almost unbelieveable that this woman could have won so many contests and that much of the time, the prizes she won would be exactly what they needed.
Clearly the film depicts an era that has long since passed. It's kind of interesting to watch and realize how different things are nowdays.....
in many different respects, actually.
If you get a chance, please don't miss this movie. Julianne Moore & Woody Harrelson do an outstanding job of telling the story of the Ryan family.
Tuesday Tube
Exciting and busy night tonight!!! Prepare for serious tv viewing!! Ready your clickers and your split screens and Tivo's!!!!!
From 8:30 to 10:01, Dancing with the Stars returns for a dance-off between John O’Hurley and Kelly Monaco. Viewer votes will determine the winner, who will be announced Sunday.
At 9, a summer of friendship and fun concludes on CBS with the one-hour finale of Big Brother 6. The jury will be forced to award either Maggie or Ivette $500,000, and then after that they’ll fade into oblivion as two of the most hated reality stars ever.
At 10, CBS’ Rock Star: INXS airs its finale, as one of the final three—J.D., Marty, or Mig—will become INXS’ new lead singer.
Also at 10, ABC’s Wife Swap returns and will confront racism as an African-American woman enters a household with a father who likes to use the n-word.
Of course, there’s also a regular episode of The Biggest Loser 2 at 8, and the premiere of NBC’s My Name is Earl and The Office at 9, which run opposite of a new Supernatural and House, M.D.
From 8:30 to 10:01, Dancing with the Stars returns for a dance-off between John O’Hurley and Kelly Monaco. Viewer votes will determine the winner, who will be announced Sunday.
At 9, a summer of friendship and fun concludes on CBS with the one-hour finale of Big Brother 6. The jury will be forced to award either Maggie or Ivette $500,000, and then after that they’ll fade into oblivion as two of the most hated reality stars ever.
At 10, CBS’ Rock Star: INXS airs its finale, as one of the final three—J.D., Marty, or Mig—will become INXS’ new lead singer.
Also at 10, ABC’s Wife Swap returns and will confront racism as an African-American woman enters a household with a father who likes to use the n-word.
Of course, there’s also a regular episode of The Biggest Loser 2 at 8, and the premiere of NBC’s My Name is Earl and The Office at 9, which run opposite of a new Supernatural and House, M.D.
Friday, September 16
Early Oscar Odds
Steven Spielberg's terrorist drama Munich and Ang Lee's controversial Brokeback Mountain have emerged as the front runners for Best Film at the 2006 Oscars, in the latest release from top movie industry odds site GoldDerby.com. Site editor Tom O'Neil, a top US critic and awards expert, suggests the two epics will compete with war film Jarhead, George Clooney's turn in Syriana and Memoirs Of A Geisha for the top Academy Award. But O'Neil is convinced it will be Spielberg's movie - about the hunt for the killers of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics - that will claim the big prize. He says, "It's the lead pony in this upcoming Oscar derby." Meanwhile, O'Neil and his online critics consortium, favor Tommy Lee Jones to beat Jake Gyllenhaal (Jarhead), Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) and Joaquin Phoenix's turn as Johnny Cash (Walk The Line) to the Best Actor prize for his role in Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada. GoldDerby.com's experts also predict Charlize Theron will be up for her second Best Actress Academy Award for her role of a victimized miner in North Country. Theron will compete with Judi Dench (Mrs. Henderson Presents), Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman (Transamerica), Diane Keaton (The Family Stone) and Ziyi Zhang (Memoirs Of A Geisha) for the award. (Source: IMDB.com)
Lance
He won't get back on his bike again, despite earlier reports that he may come out of retirement. Good. He's my favorite human ever, but I would've been worried that he would lose and then everyone would think he sucks all of the sudden. Now he goes out on top.
Reason for Zellwiger's Divorce
"Fraud." That's what she put down as the reason for divorce. "Fraud." What the fuck does that mean? Is he gay? Did she just realize he's bald?
Enough With The Puking!
Survivor recap, courtesy of EW:
I have to admit it — I'm a little bummed. Usually I'm amped after the first episode of a new Survivor season, but not this time. Why? Because now that it's been revealed who the two former contestants returning to play the game are, we no longer get to see those creepy promos with the silhouettes. Instead of using the actual silhouettes of Bobby Jon and Stephenie, or simply generic models, the fine folks at CBS used silhouettes of Big Brother 6 contestants Eric and Maggie. I have no idea why, but it made me laugh every time I saw it. Oh, well. Life moves on.
But, then again, the more things change, the more they stay the same. I'm conflicted about letting B.J. and Stephenie compete for a second time. It's not nearly as egregious as the Outcasts, but it still seems to be blatant stunt casting. So in theory, I don't like it. But damn if five minutes in I didn't find myself rooting for the lovable losers. Usually I revel in people's misery, and — make no mistake about it — I thoroughly enjoyed their weekly trouncings in Palau. But...well, I don't know. I guess I've just turned into a big softie. I actually got mildly upset when Old MacDonald — uh...I mean Brandon the farmer — went on record about Bobby Jon by stating, ''He's kind of a little bit dumb, you could say.'' That's not to imply I didn't also laugh, but I still felt a bit protective.
But would B.J. and Steph really have come back had they known how absolutely punishing that first 11-mile jungle trek in oppressive heat would be? The Nakum tribe won and received a flint and the superior camp, but then Blake starting puking his guts out. Or was it Jim? Or was it Judd? Oh, right — it was all three! But even that barforama was tame compared with Bobby Jon, who I honestly thought for a split second might go and die on us. That whole eyes-rolling-back-in-his-head thing was eerie. ''Palau was recess compared to Guatemala,'' he said, and remember — Palau was pretty damn hard core.
Of course, Steph didn't have it much better. She had her foot run over by a boat in the immunity challenge and has to share a tribe with Gary freakin' Hogeboom! I suppose I should explain my somewhat irrational hatred of the former NFL quarterback, seeing as how you'll be reading quite a bit of it over the next few months. You see, I'm a big Washington Redskins fan, and Hogeboom? Well, he is, was, and always will be a Dallas Cowboy. I'm sure he's a nice guy. Looks like he could be a solid leader for his tribe. But he's a Cowboy. So he must lose. Painfully, if possible.
Okay, that's enough about two-timing contestants and former crappy-ass quarterbacks. What else to make of this season so far? Well, those freaky monkey screams scare the bejesus out of me, I dig Probst's new Crocodile Dundee look with the hat, and I'm thoroughly confused as to why the tribe canoes both have Medusa heads on the front. (What is this, Clash of the Titans?) I also have to say that this has to be the oddest collection of vocations I've ever seen. Fishmonger? Zookeeper? Female sports talk radio host? Wilderness guide? Magician's assistant? Again — magician's assistant? (I actually think Morgan is pretty hot. I'd saw her in half any day.)
Once Jim snapped his left bicep during the immunity challenge, it was obvious he was a goner. Less obvious is why Jim would use his vote to try to oust Margaret, the nurse who pretty much single-handedly kept half of the Nakum tribe alive and personally attended to Jim's wound and fetched him water. Also confusing is why Jim is apparently married to a robot. Seriously, did you catch his wife's personal message on the Febreze ''Survivor Family Moment''? No way that woman is human. Speaking of being only partially human, it appears that — judging by the clips of next week's episode — we will see the return of the Manimal as Bobby Jon lets out another one of his patented primal screams. Take that, monkeys!
I have to admit it — I'm a little bummed. Usually I'm amped after the first episode of a new Survivor season, but not this time. Why? Because now that it's been revealed who the two former contestants returning to play the game are, we no longer get to see those creepy promos with the silhouettes. Instead of using the actual silhouettes of Bobby Jon and Stephenie, or simply generic models, the fine folks at CBS used silhouettes of Big Brother 6 contestants Eric and Maggie. I have no idea why, but it made me laugh every time I saw it. Oh, well. Life moves on.
But, then again, the more things change, the more they stay the same. I'm conflicted about letting B.J. and Stephenie compete for a second time. It's not nearly as egregious as the Outcasts, but it still seems to be blatant stunt casting. So in theory, I don't like it. But damn if five minutes in I didn't find myself rooting for the lovable losers. Usually I revel in people's misery, and — make no mistake about it — I thoroughly enjoyed their weekly trouncings in Palau. But...well, I don't know. I guess I've just turned into a big softie. I actually got mildly upset when Old MacDonald — uh...I mean Brandon the farmer — went on record about Bobby Jon by stating, ''He's kind of a little bit dumb, you could say.'' That's not to imply I didn't also laugh, but I still felt a bit protective.
But would B.J. and Steph really have come back had they known how absolutely punishing that first 11-mile jungle trek in oppressive heat would be? The Nakum tribe won and received a flint and the superior camp, but then Blake starting puking his guts out. Or was it Jim? Or was it Judd? Oh, right — it was all three! But even that barforama was tame compared with Bobby Jon, who I honestly thought for a split second might go and die on us. That whole eyes-rolling-back-in-his-head thing was eerie. ''Palau was recess compared to Guatemala,'' he said, and remember — Palau was pretty damn hard core.
Of course, Steph didn't have it much better. She had her foot run over by a boat in the immunity challenge and has to share a tribe with Gary freakin' Hogeboom! I suppose I should explain my somewhat irrational hatred of the former NFL quarterback, seeing as how you'll be reading quite a bit of it over the next few months. You see, I'm a big Washington Redskins fan, and Hogeboom? Well, he is, was, and always will be a Dallas Cowboy. I'm sure he's a nice guy. Looks like he could be a solid leader for his tribe. But he's a Cowboy. So he must lose. Painfully, if possible.
Okay, that's enough about two-timing contestants and former crappy-ass quarterbacks. What else to make of this season so far? Well, those freaky monkey screams scare the bejesus out of me, I dig Probst's new Crocodile Dundee look with the hat, and I'm thoroughly confused as to why the tribe canoes both have Medusa heads on the front. (What is this, Clash of the Titans?) I also have to say that this has to be the oddest collection of vocations I've ever seen. Fishmonger? Zookeeper? Female sports talk radio host? Wilderness guide? Magician's assistant? Again — magician's assistant? (I actually think Morgan is pretty hot. I'd saw her in half any day.)
Once Jim snapped his left bicep during the immunity challenge, it was obvious he was a goner. Less obvious is why Jim would use his vote to try to oust Margaret, the nurse who pretty much single-handedly kept half of the Nakum tribe alive and personally attended to Jim's wound and fetched him water. Also confusing is why Jim is apparently married to a robot. Seriously, did you catch his wife's personal message on the Febreze ''Survivor Family Moment''? No way that woman is human. Speaking of being only partially human, it appears that — judging by the clips of next week's episode — we will see the return of the Manimal as Bobby Jon lets out another one of his patented primal screams. Take that, monkeys!
Stop The Madness!
I love reality tv, I really do.... but I must admit that the current influx of celeb-reality shows and other sub-par reality television is beginning to annoy me. Even the Real World is boring and passe; following the same tired casting formulas season after season.
But now....this is my current gripe..... Mr. T
But now....this is my current gripe..... Mr. T
Thursday, September 15
Shock Of The Day
Actress Renee Zellweger and country singer Kenny Chesney are seeking an annulment after five months of marriage.
Who woulda thunk?
Who woulda thunk?
RockStar: INXS
Anyone watching this?
Who should win? Mig, Marty or JD?
Sad to see Suzie go. I thought she was pretty darn good.
Who should win? Mig, Marty or JD?
Sad to see Suzie go. I thought she was pretty darn good.
Wednesday, September 14
How NOT to start a story
"Britney Spears has helped husband Kevin Federline multiply and replenish the earth. Again."
From E! Online. And I hope tongue-in-cheek.
From E! Online. And I hope tongue-in-cheek.
Tuesday, September 13
Lost: More Episode Titles & News!!!
Episode four will be titled "Everybody Hates Hugo," written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, and directed by Alan Taylor.
Episode five will be titled "...and Found," written by Executive Producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof � and if you've been watching, you probably know which characters will be featured in flashbacks therein � the clues are in the titles!
Episode five will be titled "...and Found," written by Executive Producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof � and if you've been watching, you probably know which characters will be featured in flashbacks therein � the clues are in the titles!
MJ is so fuctup
From Page Six:
JUST when you think it’s safe to go back in the water, Michael Jackson is spotted flopping around a Persian water park in a skintight, white Lycra body suit. Ex-Postie Primrose Skelton, now based in Dubai, says Jacko rented out the entire Wild Wadi park in that sheikdom recently, inviting parents and their children to enjoy the slides and water chutes. Despite only his eyes, nose and mouth being visible under the suit, Jackson spent most of his time in the shade. “He looked even stranger than usual. His body is very skinny, and the Lycra material did him no favors,” said a lifeguard.
Have you seen the picture of him? I only saw his face over at Dajoro. He looks kind of like a gay ninja.
JUST when you think it’s safe to go back in the water, Michael Jackson is spotted flopping around a Persian water park in a skintight, white Lycra body suit. Ex-Postie Primrose Skelton, now based in Dubai, says Jacko rented out the entire Wild Wadi park in that sheikdom recently, inviting parents and their children to enjoy the slides and water chutes. Despite only his eyes, nose and mouth being visible under the suit, Jackson spent most of his time in the shade. “He looked even stranger than usual. His body is very skinny, and the Lycra material did him no favors,” said a lifeguard.
Have you seen the picture of him? I only saw his face over at Dajoro. He looks kind of like a gay ninja.
Wake Me Up When September Ends
Not only is it how many of us feel, but it's a damn good Green Day song with a damn good video to go along with it. It's anti-war (which isn't new), but shows a lot of Iraq footage and has two badass stars (Evan Rachel Wood and Billy Elliot).
Check it out. Over at MTV Overdrive is a good place.
Check it out. Over at MTV Overdrive is a good place.
React Now
If you missed React Now on MTV like I did, you should check it out on MTV Overdrive (the best general music site on the internets, by the way). Great performances by Green Day, Coldplay, Trent Reznor, U2, etc.
Who says Ohio doesn't start trends
It's called jamskating, a combination of roller-skating, gymnastics moves and break-dancing. And the trend is growing in Ohio. In Columbus, jamskating is about the skater's bounce. In Akron, it's all about speed, and in Cleveland the growing jamskating trend is the so-called "groove" or down tempo.
Cleveland's Michael McCoy demonstrated the trend by launching into the air. He turned his shoulders to the left and forced his legs and body into a 360-degree rotation. Also known as freestyle skating, jamskating is a style of roller-skating that incorporates elements of break dancing, artistic skating, gymnastics and modern dance. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Cleveland's Michael McCoy demonstrated the trend by launching into the air. He turned his shoulders to the left and forced his legs and body into a 360-degree rotation. Also known as freestyle skating, jamskating is a style of roller-skating that incorporates elements of break dancing, artistic skating, gymnastics and modern dance. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio
OMG!!!! I just learned I am getting a ticket to attend the local premiere!!!!
Rome: Season Two
We only have to wait until fall 2007. I wonder how they turn an entire season around that quickly!
Survivah!
Hooray!!! Only 2 more days until the new Survivor!!!!!!!
In the meantime, enter TVGasm's contest. (you might need to scroll down a bit)
Enter Here
In the meantime, enter TVGasm's contest. (you might need to scroll down a bit)
Enter Here
Monday, September 12
Crash
Good movie. Great? Nah. The race-theme is way too blatant. But there are some fine moments. The two that got me: Matt Dillon helping Halle Ber... I mean Thandie Newton out of the car accident, and the Thai/Cambodian/Angelina refugees at the end. Definitely worth a checking out.
You can't make this shit up...
Pat Robertson blames Hurricane Corrina (as Laura Bush likes to put it on national news) and 9/11 on Ellen Degeneres. Yeah, okay.
ROBERTSON BLAMES HURRICANE ON CHOICE OF ELLEN DEGENERES TO HOST EMMYS
Lesbian is New Orleans native
Hollywood – Pat Robertson on Sunday said that Hurricane Katrina was God’s way of expressing its anger at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for its selection of Ellen Degeneres to host this year’s Emmy Awards. “By choosing an avowed lesbian for this national event, these Hollywood elites have clearly invited God’s wrath,” Robertson said on “The 700 Club” on Sunday. “Is it any surprise that the Almighty chose to strike at Miss Degeneres’ hometown?”
Robertson also noted that the last time Degeneres hosted the Emmys, in 2001, the September 11 terrorism attacks took place shortly before the ceremony.“
This is the second time in a row that God has invoked a disaster shortly before lesbian Ellen Degeneres hosted the Emmy Awards,” Robertson explained to his approximately one million viewers. “America is waiting for her to apologize for the death and destruction that her sexual deviance has brought onto this great nation.”
Robertson added that other tragedies of the past several years can be linked to Degeneres’ growing national prominence. September, 2003, for example, is both the month that her talk show debuted and when insurgents first gained a foothold in Iraq following the successful March invasion. “Now we know why things took a turn for the worse,” he explained.
In order to avoid further tragedy, Robertson called not only for the Television Academy to find a new heterosexual host, but to bar all homosexuals and bisexuals from taking part in the ceremony.
He said employees at the Christian Broadcasting Network had put together a list of 283 nominees, presenters, and invited guests at the Emmys known to be of sexually deviant persuasions.
“God already allows one awards show to promote the homosexual agenda,” Robertson declared. “But clearly He will not tolerate such sinful behavior to spread beyond the Tonys.”
ROBERTSON BLAMES HURRICANE ON CHOICE OF ELLEN DEGENERES TO HOST EMMYS
Lesbian is New Orleans native
Hollywood – Pat Robertson on Sunday said that Hurricane Katrina was God’s way of expressing its anger at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for its selection of Ellen Degeneres to host this year’s Emmy Awards. “By choosing an avowed lesbian for this national event, these Hollywood elites have clearly invited God’s wrath,” Robertson said on “The 700 Club” on Sunday. “Is it any surprise that the Almighty chose to strike at Miss Degeneres’ hometown?”
Robertson also noted that the last time Degeneres hosted the Emmys, in 2001, the September 11 terrorism attacks took place shortly before the ceremony.“
This is the second time in a row that God has invoked a disaster shortly before lesbian Ellen Degeneres hosted the Emmy Awards,” Robertson explained to his approximately one million viewers. “America is waiting for her to apologize for the death and destruction that her sexual deviance has brought onto this great nation.”
Robertson added that other tragedies of the past several years can be linked to Degeneres’ growing national prominence. September, 2003, for example, is both the month that her talk show debuted and when insurgents first gained a foothold in Iraq following the successful March invasion. “Now we know why things took a turn for the worse,” he explained.
In order to avoid further tragedy, Robertson called not only for the Television Academy to find a new heterosexual host, but to bar all homosexuals and bisexuals from taking part in the ceremony.
He said employees at the Christian Broadcasting Network had put together a list of 283 nominees, presenters, and invited guests at the Emmys known to be of sexually deviant persuasions.
“God already allows one awards show to promote the homosexual agenda,” Robertson declared. “But clearly He will not tolerate such sinful behavior to spread beyond the Tonys.”
Sunday, September 11
Worst. President. Ever.
A couple of good reads:
How Bush Blew It"
For this article you'll need to watch a short commercial, but it's worth the extra 30 seconds in order to read it:
The Bitter Lessons Of Four Years"
How Bush Blew It"
For this article you'll need to watch a short commercial, but it's worth the extra 30 seconds in order to read it:
The Bitter Lessons Of Four Years"
Thursday, September 8
New iPod Stuff
This news wasn't exactly earth-shattering and I'm not going to rush out and buy them, but it's newsworthy nonetheless.
iPod News
iPod News
Wednesday, September 7
Can I Buy My Ticket Now?
Charlie Hunnam (Cold Mountain) is in early talks to hop aboard Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men. In a near-future where mankind has lost the ability to procreate, the world is rocked by the news that the youngest person on earth -- who is 18 years old -- has died. As chaos erupts, a former radical is engaged to be the protector of the most sought after person on the planet -- the last remaining pregnant female. Clive Owen and Julianne Moore currently headline the pic.
Courtesy of D-Listed.
Courtesy of D-Listed.
Tuesday, September 6
God Love The Onion
Headlines from this week:
-God Outdoes Terrorists Yet Again
-Government Relief Workers Mosey In To Help
-Bush Urges Victims To Gnaw On Bootstraps For Sustenance
-Area Man Drives Food There His Goddamned Self
-Bush: 'It Has Been Brought To My Attention That There Was Recently A Bad Storm'
-God Outdoes Terrorists Yet Again
-Government Relief Workers Mosey In To Help
-Bush Urges Victims To Gnaw On Bootstraps For Sustenance
-Area Man Drives Food There His Goddamned Self
-Bush: 'It Has Been Brought To My Attention That There Was Recently A Bad Storm'
Engaged!
Lance 'n Sheryl have finally announced their engagement..... just in the nick of time to promote her new album, coming out September 13.
Awww... who cares???!!! It's Lance 'n Sheryl. We love them!!!!!!
Awww... who cares???!!! It's Lance 'n Sheryl. We love them!!!!!!
My Mother Is Going To Pee Her Pants!
Being the ice-skating freak she is, this RealityBlurred.com item is for her:
FOX’s latest round of plagiarism has announced its cast. Skating With Celebrities, a rip-off of ABC’s successful summer show Dancing with the Stars, is currently in reherasals, and when it debuts sometime this fall, it will be hosted by Scott Hamilton. As it turns out, my knee-bashing prediction was somewhat prescient, as Nancy Kerrigan is one of the skaters taking part. Tonya Harding, however, is nowhere to be found.
FOX is going to be slightly original, dumping the audience vote in favor of letting the judges decide. As Variety reports, “Fox’s show will rely solely on judges — including Olympic star Dorothy Hamill — to determine weekly winners, rather than letting viewers have a say.”
The celebrities and their skating partners are as follows: Bruce Jenner and Tai Babilonia, Dave Coulier and Nancy Kerrigan, Todd Bridges and Jenni Meno, Kristy Swanson and Lloyd Eisler, Debbie—er, Deborah—Gibson and Kurt Browning, and Jillian Barberie with John Zimmerman.
If you don’t recognize some of those names, such as Good Day L.A. forecaster Jillian Barberie, it’s allegedly not because FOX couldn’t find talent. Instead, Variety reports that producers “had to turn away a number of celebs who wanted to do the show but simply weren’t up to snuff as skaters.”
FOX’s latest round of plagiarism has announced its cast. Skating With Celebrities, a rip-off of ABC’s successful summer show Dancing with the Stars, is currently in reherasals, and when it debuts sometime this fall, it will be hosted by Scott Hamilton. As it turns out, my knee-bashing prediction was somewhat prescient, as Nancy Kerrigan is one of the skaters taking part. Tonya Harding, however, is nowhere to be found.
FOX is going to be slightly original, dumping the audience vote in favor of letting the judges decide. As Variety reports, “Fox’s show will rely solely on judges — including Olympic star Dorothy Hamill — to determine weekly winners, rather than letting viewers have a say.”
The celebrities and their skating partners are as follows: Bruce Jenner and Tai Babilonia, Dave Coulier and Nancy Kerrigan, Todd Bridges and Jenni Meno, Kristy Swanson and Lloyd Eisler, Debbie—er, Deborah—Gibson and Kurt Browning, and Jillian Barberie with John Zimmerman.
If you don’t recognize some of those names, such as Good Day L.A. forecaster Jillian Barberie, it’s allegedly not because FOX couldn’t find talent. Instead, Variety reports that producers “had to turn away a number of celebs who wanted to do the show but simply weren’t up to snuff as skaters.”
Saturday, September 3
And More Lost!!
Entertainment Weekly has their annual Fall TV Preview out!! Get your hands on a copy if you can!
Lots of good stuff/news on Lost (in EW), including;
-New time slot! 9pm on Wednesday!!!! Hurray!!
-A huge fold-out poster of the plan seating chart. This could be a handy addition to your Wednesday night viewing!
-Identity of 3 new castaways: Michelle Rodriguez (as Ana-Lucia, which we sorta already knew), Cynthia Watros as Libby and
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as..... "we don't know".
-Charlie & Claire's relationship will deepen as will Sayid and Shannon's
-Michael makes it back to land
-Shannon will spot Walt in the woods but everyone thinks she's hallucinating
-Further backstory on Jack's marriage, Sawyer's life as a con man and Kate's criminal history
-Tensions between Jack & Locke will "explode into an epic faith-versus-reason battle"
-We WILL see what is in the hatch in episode 1. This will cause a whole new set of questions for us to ponder
-Hurley will have to face those tormenting numbers
That's all for now kids. Remember, 18 days and counting!
Lots of good stuff/news on Lost (in EW), including;
-New time slot! 9pm on Wednesday!!!! Hurray!!
-A huge fold-out poster of the plan seating chart. This could be a handy addition to your Wednesday night viewing!
-Identity of 3 new castaways: Michelle Rodriguez (as Ana-Lucia, which we sorta already knew), Cynthia Watros as Libby and
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as..... "we don't know".
-Charlie & Claire's relationship will deepen as will Sayid and Shannon's
-Michael makes it back to land
-Shannon will spot Walt in the woods but everyone thinks she's hallucinating
-Further backstory on Jack's marriage, Sawyer's life as a con man and Kate's criminal history
-Tensions between Jack & Locke will "explode into an epic faith-versus-reason battle"
-We WILL see what is in the hatch in episode 1. This will cause a whole new set of questions for us to ponder
-Hurley will have to face those tormenting numbers
That's all for now kids. Remember, 18 days and counting!
Friday, September 2
BIG BIG BIG Scoops O' Lost!!!!
From Kristin, over at E! :
The Raft Stuff Is "Gnarly": That's how Harold Perrineau describes the upcoming scenes for his group, which I hear take place beginning in the first episode. Word is, the first episode is on land, the second is on sea, and the third is back on land with a very cool reveal. It turns out all that water stuff is the last thing Harold wanted to do. (He also gives his thoughts on Walt's whereabouts!)
Locke's Getting More Backstory: Terry O'Quinn is shooting another flashback episode. And once again, we'll be seeing Locke in a "different light."
Jack Gets a New Love Interest: When asked if there might be a romance with new series regular Michelle Rodriguez, Matthew Fox tells me: "I think that there's probably plans for that.You know, they had a really cool first meeting in the airport, and I think for 40 days, Jack has thought that she passed away on the flight. So, when and how they meet and what that means to the both of them is very exciting."
Even Evie Can't Decide: If you find your affections swaying between Sawyer...then Jack...then back to Sawyer during each episode, you're not alone. "How could anyone choose?" Evangeline Lilly tells me. But she does have an opinion for her alter ego, Kate. "Honestly, I think that I have to say sometimes I feel like Kate is a better match for Sawyer, because they've got a lot in common. I mean, Jack's almost like Kate's hero, whereas Sawyer's like her equal. They're kind of just these sparring partners, and Jack is like someone she almost idolizes and that, to me, is not the kind of relationship I'd want to be in. I don't know about you, but I don't wanna worship the guy that I'm with. I wanna kind of play around with him and be on equal terms with him, so I'm gonna have to go with Sawyer...for now!"
They're Going in the Hatch: "I've spent the past 10 days off and on shooting inside the hatch, and it's amazing," Matthew Fox says. "The first script blew my mind. Damon Lindelof's script. It's fantastic, and it obviously deals with what's in the hatch. And I was very, very pleased with what they did with it." Keep in mind that you see what's in the hatch in the first episode but won't understand it until episode three.
But the hatch reveal is good. And I think you're going to be fully satisfied by the first three episodes of the season. Only 19 days and counting!
The Raft Stuff Is "Gnarly": That's how Harold Perrineau describes the upcoming scenes for his group, which I hear take place beginning in the first episode. Word is, the first episode is on land, the second is on sea, and the third is back on land with a very cool reveal. It turns out all that water stuff is the last thing Harold wanted to do. (He also gives his thoughts on Walt's whereabouts!)
Locke's Getting More Backstory: Terry O'Quinn is shooting another flashback episode. And once again, we'll be seeing Locke in a "different light."
Jack Gets a New Love Interest: When asked if there might be a romance with new series regular Michelle Rodriguez, Matthew Fox tells me: "I think that there's probably plans for that.You know, they had a really cool first meeting in the airport, and I think for 40 days, Jack has thought that she passed away on the flight. So, when and how they meet and what that means to the both of them is very exciting."
Even Evie Can't Decide: If you find your affections swaying between Sawyer...then Jack...then back to Sawyer during each episode, you're not alone. "How could anyone choose?" Evangeline Lilly tells me. But she does have an opinion for her alter ego, Kate. "Honestly, I think that I have to say sometimes I feel like Kate is a better match for Sawyer, because they've got a lot in common. I mean, Jack's almost like Kate's hero, whereas Sawyer's like her equal. They're kind of just these sparring partners, and Jack is like someone she almost idolizes and that, to me, is not the kind of relationship I'd want to be in. I don't know about you, but I don't wanna worship the guy that I'm with. I wanna kind of play around with him and be on equal terms with him, so I'm gonna have to go with Sawyer...for now!"
They're Going in the Hatch: "I've spent the past 10 days off and on shooting inside the hatch, and it's amazing," Matthew Fox says. "The first script blew my mind. Damon Lindelof's script. It's fantastic, and it obviously deals with what's in the hatch. And I was very, very pleased with what they did with it." Keep in mind that you see what's in the hatch in the first episode but won't understand it until episode three.
But the hatch reveal is good. And I think you're going to be fully satisfied by the first three episodes of the season. Only 19 days and counting!
Sad/Funny
From Gawker:
People say there’s never any shared sacrifice in Bush’s America. That’s not true. Consider the sad plight of Martha Jane Tassin, a Baton Rouge city council member, who now has relatives from New Orleans staying with her:
Things like ice, rarely given a thought before the family invasion, are now in short order. For the time being, Ms. Tassin and her guests have limited themselves to one cube for each glass of water. “It’s going to be a long haul,” she said. “Everyone is sacrificing in lots of ways.”
How noble.
People say there’s never any shared sacrifice in Bush’s America. That’s not true. Consider the sad plight of Martha Jane Tassin, a Baton Rouge city council member, who now has relatives from New Orleans staying with her:
Things like ice, rarely given a thought before the family invasion, are now in short order. For the time being, Ms. Tassin and her guests have limited themselves to one cube for each glass of water. “It’s going to be a long haul,” she said. “Everyone is sacrificing in lots of ways.”
How noble.
Random Thoughts
On Condi Rice:
"By Thursday evening, Ms. Rice had cut short her vacation and returned to Washington, where she headed to a staff meeting to discuss ways of coordinating offers of foreign assistance from more than 30 countries and organizations."
---about damn time!
On Bush:
President Bush told reporters on Friday that millions of tons of food and water are on the way to the people stranded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina -- but he said the results of the relief effort "are not acceptable."
--gee, ya think?
On Cheney:
Uh... where is the VP? Is he on vacation or is he sick or something?
On Nancy Grace:
I have a love/hate with this woman, but last night she was talking the head of FEMA and he kept saying that help was "on the way" and they were "going" to be doing blah, blah, blah. Nancy Grace, bless her little heart, stopped the convo right there and put him on the spot by saying, "What, are you guys waiting for an engraved invitation" here before you're going to send help to these people? Good for her! Pretty bad when the MSM is getting openly annoyed with the politicos.
On Anderson Cooper:
I'm feeling the love! You go, Anderson!!!!!!!!!!
"By Thursday evening, Ms. Rice had cut short her vacation and returned to Washington, where she headed to a staff meeting to discuss ways of coordinating offers of foreign assistance from more than 30 countries and organizations."
---about damn time!
On Bush:
President Bush told reporters on Friday that millions of tons of food and water are on the way to the people stranded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina -- but he said the results of the relief effort "are not acceptable."
--gee, ya think?
On Cheney:
Uh... where is the VP? Is he on vacation or is he sick or something?
On Nancy Grace:
I have a love/hate with this woman, but last night she was talking the head of FEMA and he kept saying that help was "on the way" and they were "going" to be doing blah, blah, blah. Nancy Grace, bless her little heart, stopped the convo right there and put him on the spot by saying, "What, are you guys waiting for an engraved invitation" here before you're going to send help to these people? Good for her! Pretty bad when the MSM is getting openly annoyed with the politicos.
On Anderson Cooper:
I'm feeling the love! You go, Anderson!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, September 1
Unfortunately, My Dad Doesn't Get It
His email (in response to the photo showing a black man "looting" and a white couple "finding"):
"All those bloggers should channel their efforts and money to relief of those people.Those idiots are blaming Bush for the hurricane?? Heck, we've had hurricanes for100's of years."
"All those bloggers should channel their efforts and money to relief of those people.Those idiots are blaming Bush for the hurricane?? Heck, we've had hurricanes for100's of years."
People are figuring out that Bush Co. doesn't give a shit about them
From Gawker:
According to Drudge, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has recently enjoyed a little Broadway entertainment. And Page Six reports that she’s also working on her backhand with Monica Seles. So the Gulf Coast has gone all Mad Max, women are being raped in the Superdome, and Rice is enjoying a brief vacation in New York. We wish we were surprised.
What does surprise us: Just moments ago at the Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes (we’ve confirmed this, so her new heels will surely get coverage from the WaPo’s Robin Givhan). A fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice’s timing, went up to the Secretary and reportedly shouted, “How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!” Never one to have her fashion choices questioned, Rice had security PHYSICALLY REMOVE the woman.
Angry Lady, whoever you are, we love you. You are a true American.
According to Drudge, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has recently enjoyed a little Broadway entertainment. And Page Six reports that she’s also working on her backhand with Monica Seles. So the Gulf Coast has gone all Mad Max, women are being raped in the Superdome, and Rice is enjoying a brief vacation in New York. We wish we were surprised.
What does surprise us: Just moments ago at the Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes (we’ve confirmed this, so her new heels will surely get coverage from the WaPo’s Robin Givhan). A fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice’s timing, went up to the Secretary and reportedly shouted, “How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!” Never one to have her fashion choices questioned, Rice had security PHYSICALLY REMOVE the woman.
Angry Lady, whoever you are, we love you. You are a true American.
iTunes phone
Rumor is that on Sept 7, Apple and Motorola will introduce a new iTunes phone (Cool!). Another rumor suggests that Madonna will provide the music. Interesting, since she has so-far refused to sell her tunes on iTunes. Stay tuned...
So Sad...
From towelroad:
"In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent to pay for the Iraq war...
...A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how New Orleans could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but the Bush administration ordered that the research not be undertaken."
National Guard military policeman stationed outside of Superdome: "This is mass chaos. To tell you the truth, I'd rather be in Iraq. You got your constant danger, but I had something to protect myself. [And] three meals a day. Communications. A plan. Here, they had no plan."
Crooks and Liars: "Anderson Cooper was visibly upset today by the fact that 'person after person' came up to him asking why the federal government hasn't shown up to help out yet."
"In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent to pay for the Iraq war...
...A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how New Orleans could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but the Bush administration ordered that the research not be undertaken."
National Guard military policeman stationed outside of Superdome: "This is mass chaos. To tell you the truth, I'd rather be in Iraq. You got your constant danger, but I had something to protect myself. [And] three meals a day. Communications. A plan. Here, they had no plan."
Crooks and Liars: "Anderson Cooper was visibly upset today by the fact that 'person after person' came up to him asking why the federal government hasn't shown up to help out yet."
Liar.
Bush on Good Morning America today:
"I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees."
Bull shit. I know he doesn't "read the news," but maybe he watches the news. The night before the hurricane, CNN was all but saying goodbye to the city of New Orleans. The surge was going to be 28 feet, when the levee was between 15 and 20 feet in most places. Bush is a damn liar. In 2006, vote Democrat and get this SOB out of office. I'm not even kidding.
If this is how he prepares for the worst natural disaster in memory, imagine the next terrorist attack. Maybe we'll be lucky if he responds in 3 days. He may be too busy on vacation or reading "My Pet Goat."
"I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees."
Bull shit. I know he doesn't "read the news," but maybe he watches the news. The night before the hurricane, CNN was all but saying goodbye to the city of New Orleans. The surge was going to be 28 feet, when the levee was between 15 and 20 feet in most places. Bush is a damn liar. In 2006, vote Democrat and get this SOB out of office. I'm not even kidding.
If this is how he prepares for the worst natural disaster in memory, imagine the next terrorist attack. Maybe we'll be lucky if he responds in 3 days. He may be too busy on vacation or reading "My Pet Goat."
My mom isn't the only one...
New York Times:
George W. Bush gave one of the worst speeches of his life yesterday, especially given the level of national distress and the need for words of consolation and wisdom. In what seems to be a ritual in this administration, the president appeared a day later than he was needed. He then read an address of a quality more appropriate for an Arbor Day celebration: a long laundry list of pounds of ice, generators and blankets delivered to the stricken Gulf Coast. He advised the public that anybody who wanted to help should send cash, grinned, and promised that everything would work out in the end....
Sacrifices may be necessary to make sure that all these things happen in an orderly, efficient way. But this administration has never been one to counsel sacrifice. And nothing about the president's demeanor yesterday - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis.
While our attention must now be on the Gulf Coast's most immediate needs, the nation will soon ask why New Orleans's levees remained so inadequate. Publications from the local newspaper to National Geographic have fulminated about the bad state of flood protection in this beloved city, which is below sea level. Why were developers permitted to destroy wetlands and barrier islands that could have held back the hurricane's surge? Why was Congress, before it wandered off to vacation, engaged in slashing the budget for correcting some of the gaping holes in the area's flood protection?
It would be some comfort to think that, as Mr. Bush cheerily announced, America "will be a stronger place" for enduring this crisis. Complacency will no longer suffice, especially if experts are right in warning that global warming may increase the intensity of future hurricanes. But since this administration won't acknowledge that global warming exists, the chances of leadership seem minimal.
George W. Bush gave one of the worst speeches of his life yesterday, especially given the level of national distress and the need for words of consolation and wisdom. In what seems to be a ritual in this administration, the president appeared a day later than he was needed. He then read an address of a quality more appropriate for an Arbor Day celebration: a long laundry list of pounds of ice, generators and blankets delivered to the stricken Gulf Coast. He advised the public that anybody who wanted to help should send cash, grinned, and promised that everything would work out in the end....
Sacrifices may be necessary to make sure that all these things happen in an orderly, efficient way. But this administration has never been one to counsel sacrifice. And nothing about the president's demeanor yesterday - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis.
While our attention must now be on the Gulf Coast's most immediate needs, the nation will soon ask why New Orleans's levees remained so inadequate. Publications from the local newspaper to National Geographic have fulminated about the bad state of flood protection in this beloved city, which is below sea level. Why were developers permitted to destroy wetlands and barrier islands that could have held back the hurricane's surge? Why was Congress, before it wandered off to vacation, engaged in slashing the budget for correcting some of the gaping holes in the area's flood protection?
It would be some comfort to think that, as Mr. Bush cheerily announced, America "will be a stronger place" for enduring this crisis. Complacency will no longer suffice, especially if experts are right in warning that global warming may increase the intensity of future hurricanes. But since this administration won't acknowledge that global warming exists, the chances of leadership seem minimal.
Important Development
Martha has removed her ankle bracelet. I repeat: Martha has removed her ankle bracelet.
Katrina Telethon
Good idea. Maybe we can save this city and the surrounding area. It will air on all 6 major networks, and Ellen will probably host (she's from New Orleans).
FYI - my mom just called me to tell me how pissed off she is at Bush for not doing a God-damned thing about this.
FYI - my mom just called me to tell me how pissed off she is at Bush for not doing a God-damned thing about this.
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