Bubblegum Aesthetics

William

2009-07-02T10:23:00.001-04:00

Van

2009-06-18T13:25:00.000-04:00

Una

2009-06-17T17:37:00.002-04:00

Blogging The Revolution

2009-06-16T17:10:00.003-04:00

For those exhausted by the ongoing Letterman-Palin debates that seem to be the sole focus of CNN these days, Andrew Sullivan has been devoting the last several days of his blog to covering the ongoing election/post-election situation in Iran. The coverage is impressive: video clips, photos, twitter feeds from protesting Iranians, international news feeds, and Sullivan's own trenchant commentary. Really thoughtful stuff, and well worth checking out.

Tallulah

2009-06-16T17:09:00.003-04:00

Sophia

2009-06-15T16:42:00.002-04:00

Roz

2009-06-13T17:48:00.001-04:00

Orson

2009-06-05T20:47:00.000-04:00

Do Not Go Gently Into That Good Night

2009-06-02T16:00:00.003-04:00

Wow, and I thought I hated Jay Leno.

Conan was pretty funny last night, by the way-- some nice remote work about living in L.A., a good interaction with Will Ferrell, and relaxed banterwith Andy Richter throughout (although I think Richter should be on the couch rather than behind a podium). A shame Pearl Jam seemed literally out-of-breath (The Lovely Companion noted that Eddie Vedder looked like Tom Wopat), but overall it was a refreshing change from the past seventeen years. See you, Jay-- don't let the door hit your chin on the way out.

Nanette

2009-06-02T14:45:00.000-04:00

Larry & Viv

2009-05-30T15:32:00.001-04:00

Kate

2009-05-27T16:33:00.001-04:00

Happy Blogiversary, Bully!

2009-05-27T16:19:00.004-04:00

The funnest comics-readin' bull in the blogosphere celebrates four years of posts today, over at Comics Oughta Be Fun! That's right, Bully turns four today, so break out your favorite issue of The Thing and raise a cup of steaming cocoa in honor of the world's best comics blogger! Bully's gift, which he gives out with every post, is to remind us that "fun" is crucial to our critiques of pop culture, so the least we can do to repay this debt is to mosey on over to his place and wish him well. Oh, and maybe bring Jane Wiedlin with us.

James

2009-05-26T16:12:00.000-04:00

Staked

2009-05-26T12:51:00.007-04:00

As Buffy The Vampire Slayer's great truth-teller, Cordelia Chase might say, "Know your losers. Once you can identify them all by sight they're a lot easier to avoid."

Because, really--there are bad ideas, and then there are bad ideas.

A Buffy without Joss Whedon or any of the actors from the TV show isn't Buffy; it's not even this Buffy, which at least benefitted from Whedon's script and a game (if misused) cast. I was going to say it was kind of the Beatlemania to the show's Beatles, except Beatlemania at least pretended it was "using" John, Paul, George and Ringo, whereas this reboot would jettison all the supporting characters from the TV show. It's more like CCR without John Fogerty, or the Beatles without John Lennon. And we know how that turned out.

I'm not one who particularly needs a Buffy movie, or an Angel reunion: I like the way Angel ended, and think Buffy was running on fumes by the time it reached its overpraised final episode (a feeling borne out by the hit-and-miss "Season 8" comic). I'm happy to catch up with Dollhouse and wait for the Dr. Horrible sequel. But if you are going to make a big-screen Slayer film, it just seems like bad form to do it without the people who made the show popular in the first place.

UPDATE (4:55 p.m.): Fellow Whedonite Bob also has some thoughts on the matter.

UPDATE II (5/27): Over at More A Legend Than A Blog, CZR makes some interesting points about the irony of a Buffy revival being inspired by the success of the Twilight series. Here's the money passage:

The insanely popular series by Stephanie Meyers is now on target for a Harry Potter/Spider Man level film franchise, which has everyone scrambling for their own hot starlet-on-vampire series. Of course, Whedon's Buffy had nothing but contempt for the "Vampires are cool and I totally want to be one!" crowd that is a significant part of the Twilight fan base. Remember Season 2's excellent "Lie To Me" episode where those goth kids are waiting to be slaughtered by Spike's crew? Buffy referred to them as "The All You Can Eat Moron Buffet." Also, the Twilight series, unlike Whedon's Buffy, has drawn a lot of fire for the troubling messages that it sends out to teenage girls. A good friend of mine, let's call her "Leslie," breaks down what's wrong with Twilight's gender politics with pitiless accuracy. This is her eight-part critique, in its entirety.

"1. It's okay if boys stalk you and watch you while you sleep
2. If you like a boy become totally consumed by him and pretend your friends don't exist (unless you need them for something)
3. If boy leaves you, try not to kill yourself. Lapsing into severe depression and cliff diving is okay.
4. Your parents will get over it if you decide to have your boyfriend kill you and turn you into a vampire
5. It's okay for a boy/werewolf to force you to kiss him b/c you'll realize you kind of love him
6. Be home in time to cook dinner for your dad
7. It's romantic when your boyfriend makes you ask permission to do anything without him
8. It's romantic when your boyfriend is patronizing and treats you like a child

Plus there's something that werewolves do called imprinting, and it's really creepy and I don't want to get into it."

Compare that to Sarah Michelle Gellar's in-charge Buffy Summers, who essentially lived her life according to Fred "The Hammer" Williamson's Three Hollywood Rules (See my About Me up at the top right hand corner). She was always treated as an equal (or more) by friend & foe alike and if anyone forgot to do that, or took her for granted because she was blonde & pretty....she rectified that situation with the quickness.

Ingrid

2009-05-25T02:19:00.001-04:00

Buzzer Beater

2009-05-24T12:46:00.005-04:00

So much of Cleveland sports culture is encapsulated in this video from Friday night's local news broacast: the mournful faces when they think the Cavs have lost; the passive-aggressive responses to that loss ("I would not blame you if you changed the channel"; "I'm canceling my Sports Illustrated subscription!"); the over-the-top elation when they realize the Cavs won (complete with dancing guy in the background). As a Browns fan, I know Ohio sports can be summed up by that line from They Might Be Giants: "If it wasn't for disappointment, I wouldn't have any appointments." But I do like the arc of this video, as hope screams its way in at the buzzer.

(h/t Deadspin).

Humphrey

2009-05-22T22:26:00.000-04:00

Goin' After Some Lipstick Chicks

2009-05-20T09:39:00.001-04:00

A live performance from The Replacements at the International Rock Awards (no year listed, but I'm guessing '89 or '90, around the time Don't Tell A Soul was released). The song and performance rock, of course, but I especially treasure two extra-textual moments: Paul Westerberg's deadpan cry of "What the hell are we doing here?" as the song begins; the way he sticks his tongue out as the camera gives him a close-up (very John Lennon).

Grace

2009-05-19T02:06:00.001-04:00

What's My Line?

2009-05-18T19:40:00.004-04:00

Poor Tucker. But I'm sure he'll find a way to blame it on Jon Stewart.

On a related note, James Harrison once again makes me proud to be a Browns fan. The list of pro athletes who've skipped Presidential greetings contains stars both illustrious (Michael Jordan, Larry Bird) and infamous (Mark Chmura, Manny Ramirez), so I don't think it's a particularly awful thing to skip out on the ceremony. But man, at least make your reason coherent, James.

Tall, Dark and Goofy

2009-05-16T17:27:00.002-04:00

Happy 40th to everyone's favorite tortured vampire/witty FBI agent, David Boreanaz!

The More We Know

2009-05-15T17:27:00.000-04:00

What happens when a character's persona overtakes the real-life actor or actress? I like Jane Krakowski-- she somehow kept her comic chops sharp as everything on Ally McBeal fell apart around her; she sings a lovely version of Stephen Sondheim's "Barcelona" on my Company cast album; and she's a delightfully self-absorbed star on 30 Rock, where she seems to be having a lot of fun trying to top Tracy Morgan in sheer craziness.

The problem is, she's so good in her 30 Rock role-- and the show itself is so wired into its through-the-looking-glass satire of NBC's backstage politics--that the PSA above no longer works the way it's intended. Instead of being a touching reminder to be environmentally conscious, it plays like a parody of such an ad, its shallow response to larger social problems (use reusable bags, and we'll never have these problems again!) coming off as the dilletantism of sitcom diva Jenna rather than the surely sincere plea of Krakowski herself. At least Alec Baldwin seems in on his own joke, offering a wickedly deadpan spoof of celebrity endorsements that highlights the silliness of such corporate advice-giving, and skewers it for all it's worth.

Charm Monster

2009-05-14T01:51:00.002-04:00

Christopher Hitchens, ever the gent:

By the end of the night, Christopher Hitchens was of course the last man (barely) standing, and he had some choice words for the evening's headlining comedian, Wanda Sykes. "The president should be squirming in his seat. Not smiling," he said. "The black dyke got it wrong. No one told her the rules."

(h/t Steve Benen).