Friday, September 4, 2015
Thursday, September 3, 2015
BURNING THE JACKET: George Michael's Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1, is 25 years old today. We are still waiting for volume 2.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
THE WRATH OF THE WHATEVER FROM HIGH ATOP THE VITAMEATAVEGAMIN: Cate Blanchett will play Lucille Ball in an Aaron Sorkin-scripted biopic focusing on her relationship with Desi.
FEY-POEHLER OR BUST: Next year's Academy Awards ceremony will have two (as yet unnamed) hosts. Please speculate wildly.
SWIFT SATISFACTION: According to a marketer's survey which focused on tv series which pass the Bechdel Test, the most popular female character on tv is Sgt. Olivia Benson on L&O Extra Crispy, followed by Cookie Lyon; the Mother of Dragons/Breaker of Chains/Finder of Lost Remotes; and a three-way-tie between Olivia Pope, Dr. Meredith Grey, and everything Jessica Lange's doing in crazytown.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
ALOTT5MA "DEAD BECAUSE OF A WRESTLER" DESK: Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, 72, has finally been charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the May 1983 killing of his 23-year-old girlfriend at an Allentown-area motel. The facts are pretty horrifying.
THIS DAY WE FIGHT! BY ALL THAT YOU HOLD DEAR ON THIS GOOD EARTH, I BID YOU STAND, MEN OF THE WEST: I recall some story in a 3rd grader reader about the kid who designed the Alaska Flag. Now, no doubt, the Big Dipper featured on many proposed designs for that -- but to the extent the myth is to be taken as received truth, the origin of the Alaska flag was untainted by the pretense of art.
Not so with the four finalists for the new flag of New Zealand. I get the notion of wanting to ditch the Union Jack, but black is a lousy color for a flag (NZ's association with black notwithstanding) and the ferns? I think replacing the Jack with the NZAF's Kiwi roundel would be much nicer and keeping with some semblance of tradition (and, if not for the sake of tradition, what's the point of a flag at all?).
I confess the RSA's flag has grown on me, but there they were trying to fundamentally break with flag that stood for something truly evil. Here, what exactly are they separating themselves from that merits these abominations.
Not so with the four finalists for the new flag of New Zealand. I get the notion of wanting to ditch the Union Jack, but black is a lousy color for a flag (NZ's association with black notwithstanding) and the ferns? I think replacing the Jack with the NZAF's Kiwi roundel would be much nicer and keeping with some semblance of tradition (and, if not for the sake of tradition, what's the point of a flag at all?).
I confess the RSA's flag has grown on me, but there they were trying to fundamentally break with flag that stood for something truly evil. Here, what exactly are they separating themselves from that merits these abominations.
Monday, August 31, 2015
DARLING, NICKI: Oh, I miss the days when the most fun moment at the VMAs was seeing Krist Novoselic accidentally knock himself out with an airborne bass guitar, Madonna's French drawing room version of "Vogue", Prince showing some tush (while his band seems to have raided the Cross Colours catalog), or Pearl Jam rocking in the free world with Canada's greatest rocker. Yes, live music!
As for VMA shade-throwing, I'll take RuPaul vs. Milton Berle.
[To be clear: in a feud between Ms. Minaj and Ms. Cyrus, this author sides with the former.]
As for VMA shade-throwing, I'll take RuPaul vs. Milton Berle.
[To be clear: in a feud between Ms. Minaj and Ms. Cyrus, this author sides with the former.]
WILD CARD WEEKEND: Coming to theaters for Christmas: a remake of Michael Mann's The Insider, with Will Smith as Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, Alec Baldwin as Lowell Bergman, Albert Brooks as Mike Wallace, Luke Wilson as Michael Gambon, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy as cigarette smoking.
[It's based on this 2009 GQ article.]
[It's based on this 2009 GQ article.]