Perhaps it’s because I’m feeling extra emotional lately, but Glee’s most recent episode pulled on my heartstrings. The show’s theme was Lady Gaga’s song, Born This Way, and the story began with Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) wanting a nose job. In real life, Lea Michele has been very vocal about her opposition to changing her nose, and I’ve called her my personal hero because of it. I figure us big-schnozed Jews have to stick together, and it certainly helps when one of those schnozes is famous. Watch a clip from the show below to see Lea Michele and Dianna Agron sing a mash-up of Pretty/Unpretty.
Author: The Dishmaster
Howard Stern Moves Show to 3 Days a Week — Devastation Ensues
Howard Stern broke my heart today and I’m not sure I will fully recover. He announced that, starting next week, he will reduce his show from four days per week to three days per week. When Stern re-signed with Sirius, he warned listeners that he’d change his schedule, which means this arrangement was negotiated months ago. My guess is that Stern wanted to keep this announcement a secret until the dust settled on his contract re-negotiation. I understand that Howard Stern is the only entertainer of his caliber that has to produce this much original content. Letterman, for example, is on the air for one hour per day, and he has an entire machine behind him. Stern has a much smaller machine, and he’s producing 16 hours of original content per week. That being said, I’m still devastated. According to Stern, “The option was either leave or work a few less days, and I thought it was better to stay on the air.” Yes — I’d prefer to have some of Stern than none of Stern. But I want all of Stern. Is that too much to ask?
Sarah Palin v. Katie Couric — Palin Still Pissed About Newspaper Question?
Before I start this post, I’d like to express my strong dislike for Sarah Palin. Having said that, I’m about to defend her. News outlets everywhere are still citing Katie Couric’s infamous question about Sarah Palin’s reading choices as a hard journalistic revelation. Allow me to put this to bed. When Katie Couric asked Sarah Palin what newspapers she reads and Palin refused to answer, everyone assumed that Palin simply didn’t read. But here’s the snag: if I’m being interviewed, and the “journalist” asks me what newspapers I read, I might tell such “journalist” to take a flying leap (or something laced with more profanity, which I’ll refrain from printing, because it’s not lady-like). The question itself implies negative judgment, and a real journalist wouldn’t ask it (such as Barbara Walters, for example). I’m fully confident Palin dodged that question because she was offended, and not because she’s never heard of the New York Times. Even a monkey knows about the New York Times. And before my readers attack me, please read the first sentence of this post again.
Howard Stern — Quote of the Day
Anderson Cooper Takes on Donald Trump — Cooper’s a Bad-Ass
Anderson Cooper took on Donald Trump to debunk Trump’s ridiculous theory that President Obama wasn’t born in the United States, and I’d encourage you to watch the video below to confirm that Anderson Cooper is a bad-ass. I originally thought that Trump’s claims aren’t worthy of a hard-news interview, but then I realized that Donald Trump’s ridiculous assertions are potentially damaging. His fame puts him in a position of power, and the more he makes the talk-show circuits professing that Obama is not an American citizen, the more likely he is to influence weak-minded people that are aching to believe this. I’ve always loved Donald Trump, mostly because I’m a huge Celebrity Apprentice fan, and because he’s Howard Stern’s best guest. That being said, I now officially hate him. To quote President Obama, he’s nothing but a “carnival barker.”
UPDATE: Obama released his birth certificate, and Trump took credit.
Christina Aguilera Discusses Super Bowl Flub . . . Again
Am I the only person on the planet that doesn’t think Christina Aguilera’s Super Bowl flub is a big deal? Yes, she forgot the words to an extremely important song on an extremely important day, but judging from the media’s reaction and her subsequent apologies, you’d think she threatened national security. Click the link below to watch her discuss the incident, yet again, on Ellen DeGeneres.
Christina Aguilera/Ellen DeGeneres
Why Didn’t Katie Couric Announce Her CBS Retirement on CBS?
If there’s a public interest in losing your job, you might as well cash in on it, right? When Barbara Walters asked Katie Couric if she was leaving CBS during her appearance on The View, Couric squirmed. At the time, I knew why. She didn’t want to give The View a huge amount of press with nothing in return. Why not make some money on your job loss? Couric chose People Magazine for her big announcement, and I imagine they paid her a pretty penny for the revelation. If there truly wasn’t bad blood between Couric and CBS, she might have gladly given CBS the free publicity.
Mariah Carey Reveals her Easter Egg Belly on Twitter — Over-sharing?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Twitter is a PR death-trap. While I think it’s a great opportunity to connect with fans, it’s also a great opportunity to ruin your image. Because there’s no middle-man (i.e. a publicist) to control celebrity tweets, stars reveal a damaging amount of information. So far my list of culprits include: LeAnn Rimes; John Cusack; Sarah Shahi; Teri Hatcher; and now — Mariah Carey. Carey recently posted a picture of her pregnant belly painted as an Easter egg, which is cute in theory, but inappropriate overall. Mariah Carey is a huge star, and the less private she becomes — the more she demeans her professional value.
External Resource: Let’s hope the sonogram technician, isn’t as quick to over-share.
Lady Gaga Cries During HBO Special — Inauthentic and Disturbing?
When I think of Lady Gaga, the first word that comes to my mind is inauthentic. When I say this in public, it’s inevitable that someone chews my head off. Judging from the clip below, Lady Gaga would probably join in their rage. The reason I question her authenticity is because she started in the business under her real name, and she played clubs dressed as a normal person. When her career failed to launch, she got smart and developed a schtick. This schtick involves dressing up in an egg on the red carpet, and wearing frog costumes during interviews. Is that authentic or calculated? It’s okay to develop an image to gain success in the industry, but when you start as one thing and become another — don’t cry when others call you a phony. It comes with the territory. Furthermore, I find the clip below to be somewhat disturbing, as if she’s crying over nothing, and she’s surrounded by people that are arbitrarily appeasing her neurosis. If I were her friend, I might ask her if she’s seen a therapist lately (I’m actually not being sarcastic about that
suggestion).
Reveal Clip #1
Movie Review: Source Code
This film is a cross between Groundhog Day and Minority Report, and it is just inches away from being really good. Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) finds himself on a train for exactly eight minutes, and then it explodes, killing everyone on board. After the explosion, he awakens in some kind of capsule, and he’s addressed via computer by Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga). Stevens is part of a “source code” program, where he goes inside another person’s life for their last eight minutes before death. In this case, he becomes Sean Fentress, a man on the train with Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan). He’s told that he has to find the bomber on the train, and he’ll keep returning to those last eight minutes until he figures it out. He uses that time to not only find the bomber, but to also research himself, because he has trouble remembering his own identity. His discovery provides a bit of twist, and I won’t spoil it. The problem with the movie is that it’s not a very good mystery thriller. The concept is intriguing, but his investigation lacks the creativity needed to keep the movie interesting. I imagine if I was part of this program, I would have solved the mystery the exact same way as Colter Stevens, which makes for a boring movie. He’s looking through people’s bags, he’s randomly assaulting and accusing passengers, and he’s generally freaked out the entire time. Because he’s in the military, I was hoping his approach would be a bit more specific to his strengths. Furthermore, since you never really get to know each passenger, there’s no tangible investment in the plot, and the bomber becomes pretty irrelevant. Mystery thrillers need to have more content. Concept alone isn’t enough. OVERALL RATING: SADISHFIED.