Watching New Celebs

Are you watching Heroes tonight? I wish I could, but The Husband has a mancrush on Keef, so we won’t be. I’ll have to snag a Toddler naptime and watch it online one of these days.

My mom came into town and entertaining her left little time for blogging Weds & Thurs. Now The Toddler is sick (again!) and I feel like someone drilled holes in my brain. Can’t imagine what he feels like, poor dear has an ear infection AND an upper respiratory infection. No wonder he cried for 16 hours non-stop.

In celebrity news,
Jonathan Rhys Meyers joins the growing list of celebs to enter rehab, Ugly Betty and Heroes both wrapped Season One, and Perez Hilton gets sued AGAIN.

Suri, pictured with her parents, from their Vanity Fair cover shoot last year.

I’m not a Tom Cruise fan. I think he’s nutso. I think his relationship with Katie Holmes is weird. I think that he’s nutso. And I don’t think that any of his movies are all that good. But he and Katester brought life into this world, and they celebrated Suri’s birthday last week with pizza & cupcakes & toys & family. The article makes no mention of designers or celebrity guests, just grandmothers and presents and how the little gal is growing into a full-blown toddler (she’s walking! and talking!). So Feliz Cumpleanos, Suri, I hope you grow up to be a bit more sane than your daddy.

Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Vanity Fair, Suri Cruise, Suri, birthdays, People magazine, people, celebrity babies, babies

mmmmmm

So the Spiderman 3 soundtrack is available, and as I was reading Pink is the New Blog, I somehow got the idea (from reading too fast, and the color scheme, no doubt) that The Shins would be on it. So I got all excited and went to the soundtrack website and no Shins! The Yeah Yeah Yeahs & Coconut Records (I’ll blog about them sometime, I promise), but no Shins. It’s ok, it’s still going to be a kick-ass album. And the film will be a wonderful piece of cotton (brain) candy that we can’t over analyze because that’s just no fun. Take it for what it is, kids: a big-budget comic book movie, complete with comic book trite lines and overexaggerated facial expressions, and you’ll have a great time. In the meantime, listen to the soundtrack

Spiderman 3, The Shins, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Coconut Records, myspace, music, soundtracks, Marvel Comics, movies, Tobey Maguire

Because I missed yesterday. And this is too cool/important to let it wait until Monday.

I came across this documentary today. It’s amazing, to say the least. Like everything/everyone else, there’s a myspace page. It resonates with me, because of how The Toddler’s birth was managed and the attitude so many people have about birth in this country. I have no idea when this film will be released, but I’m going to go see it when it does.

Pregnant in America, documentaries, films, independent films, pregnancy, cesarean sections, birth, normalcy

Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund

April 16, 2007, will be remembered as one of the darkest days in the history of the Virginia Tech community and the world beyond.

To remember and honor the victims of those tragic events, the university has established the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to aid in the healing process and generate financial support.

The fund will be used to cover expenses including but not limited to:

• Grief counseling
• Memorials
• Communication expenses
• Comfort expenses
• Incidental needs

If you plan to give, please click the link below:

Shameless Britney reference aside, I really need to stop missing blog days.

Today I want to talk about American Idol. Now, as I’ve said before, I don’t watch the show. Partly because I can’t stand Simon, partly because I’m really not into televised schadenfreude, partly because I just don’t like the format or the host (Ryan Seacrest is a bigger tool than Carson Daly, IMNSHO) or the songs they pick or the montages or just the overall FOX-ness of it. But I’m fascinated with how people become celebrities, as I’ve discussed here before, and with Carrie Underwood (a former Idol contestant, though I’m so out of the loop I’ll have to look up whether she “won” or not…yup, she won) winning an award not too long ago, it’s been on my mind again. I think it would make an excellent master’s thesis or PhD dissertation, this discussion of “reality” TV as launching pad for fame, especially in the recording industry. Now all the brouhaha is over Sanjaya, who I only know about because the Seattle Weekly ran a piece about Idol contestants who’ve been from the Seattle area & this article referenced his eyebrows about a trillion times so now I know which one they’re talking about when I see the commercials (which, admittedly, isn’t often). Apparently he’s (arguably) not very good, but he keeps getting voted through anyway, and people are angry because “better” stars are getting cut. But if Jennifer Hudson and Clay Aiken are any indication, you don’t have to “win” to get a recording deal, so what’s the big deal? I know, I know, this is America and we have to be the BEST at EVERYTHING and if we’re second we’re NOTHING, but seriously, step back for a minute and look at the situation. Every week, these kids are on national (international? do y’all get AI in Canada?) television, not just for the few minutes they’re onscreen during the show’s airing, but for commercials and interviews and a whole host of other things. If some producer somewhere likes what s/he hears, then a deal is going to be made. I went to high school with some gals who, on a bad day, could out-sing Kelly Clarkson, nevermind what they sounded like when they were in top form. But they’re not superstars (though some of them would like to be, I’m sure), because they never got the necessary exposure (vocally or otherwise). So what is it about this show that launches stardom? What is it about the show that draws so many millions to it? Is it really just the schadenfreude? Is it the talent? What about on nights like some I’ve seen (unwillingly) when it seems everyone is having a bad night, like the proper notes just got tired of being present and all went out for drinks at the nearest bar for happy hour? What does it say about us as a viewing public when the “reject” episodes are twice as long as the “winners” segments? What do you think?

American Idol, Sanjaya, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Simon Cowell, reality television, FOX, AI

Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a big Will Ferrell fan. I’m probably the only person in the world who didn’t like Anchorman, I always got up to get a snack during his SNL skits, and I’m staying as far away from Blades of Glory as I possibly can (also not a John Heder fan - Napoleon Dynamitewas a HUGE waste of my time, GOSH!). But as I was perusing People online this evening, I found an article about this video, a short film wherein Ferrell’s writing partner’s toddler daughter plays Ferrell’s foul-mouthed landlord. The Toddler has taken to imitating things we say, which has included such precious gems as “Oh Damn!” and “Shit, shit shit,” and I think it’s hysterical. We don’t put value judgments on words around here, no word is “good” while others are “bad,” so I find a lot of humor in “The Landlord.”

Will Farrell, babies, cursing babies, profane videos, The Landlord, Adam McKay, Pearl McKay, short films, online films, comedy, www.funnyordie.com

I’m sure you’ve all heard/read/seen stuff about the Virginia Tech shooting by now, and if you haven’t, then I warn you, that news report is saddening and angering and you might want tissues if you’re prone to tears when reading about senseless violence. In any case, I really can’t bring myself to blog about something as frivolous as a new album or gossip or something else silly when this kind of thing is so heavy on my mind right now. Tomorrow I’ll force myself back in the groove, but for today my thoughts are with the families of the 33 victims, the dorm-mates, the classmates, the teachers, the townspeople, and everyone else touched by this awful day. May we never know firsthand what they’re going through, because it is just too awful. Healing thoughts to them, and the hope that with time comes closure and peace.

Virginia Tech shooting, senseless violence, Virginia Tech

Man, The Husband comes home after 10 days of being away and blogging falls by the wayside. Sorry ’bout that, dear reader.

Today, I bring you a music video. I was going to bring you the Sweeney Todd trailer, because I could have SWORN it existed, but as far as I can tell it hasn’t been released yet.

So while The Husband was in Eugene and The Toddler and I were here in Seattle, The Husband changed his MySpace music to this song called “Hey there, Delilah” by the Plain White T’s. Now, I know that me not hearing about a band doesn’t make them “new” when I finally do hear about them, but these guys haven’t gotten mainstream airplay until now, as far as I can tell. This song is all over TRL, and while I don’t usually align myself with that kind of thing, I can get behind this song. So here, for your listening pleasure, are the Plain White T’s with “Hey there, Delilah.”

plain white t’s, hey there delilah, music, TRL

So hot on the heels of Ugly Betty’s Peabody Award, America Ferrera (as I posted yesterday) has landed herself a cover story in the next issue of W.

The problem I have with this is the whole concept of beauty in the mainstream media. I love Ugly Betty. The writing is sharp, the acting is superb, the caricatures are perfectly executed, it’s cheesy in all the right places. But the implication that someone with no fashion sense, with braces and glasses a lot like mine is ugly is an insulting implication. I can get past it (mostly) because the “pretty” people in the show are vapid and shallow and always lose (with the exception of Daniel Meade, but he only wins with Betty’s help), plus it’s fiction and while there is a whole body of work that shows a connection between fictional media and real-life attitudes, I can’t be on communications theory mode all the time. But then the editors of W come along and fluff up America’s hair, take of the prosthetic braces, photoshop her collarbone a littler sharper, her arms a little thinner, and suddenly she’s “Hot Betty,” and I’m a little peeved. Yes, the article is a positive one, it shows a reverence and respect for America as an intelligent and well-adjusted woman. Why, however, does it have to mention what other articles call her with regard to her weight? Why even make it an issue? And THEN to make her look thinner via the miracle of modern technology? Gets me a little hot under the collar, to say the least.

Ugly Betty, America Ferrera, ABC shows, Peabody Awards, comedy, sitcoms, W magazine, cover stories, magazine covers

I’m so corny.

But seriously, America Ferrera is H-A-W-T and her recent interview with W magazine more than proves that. She’s also smart and sassy and funny (but we already knew all that!) and really down-to-earth. Read the whole thing here, see a video of the shoot here, and let me know what you think. I’ll talk about my reaction tomorrow.

Hat tip: WUB

America Ferrera, Ugly Betty, ABC Shows, Comedy, Peabody winners, W magazine, cover stories, magazine covers

Apparently there are some papparazzos out there who need to get their vision checked. As Hayden Panettiere (about whom I had a strange dream the other night) walked into some club or something with a few of her Heroes costars, “Give ‘em hell, Lindsay” and “we love you, Lindsay” was shouted at her from across the street. “Don’t ever call me that again,” she replied, in a surprisingly sweet voice that suggested she’s was more amused than angry. The men she was with were more annoyed than she was, cursing at the people who kept calling her Lindsay. Video here.

Hat tip: egotastic, via Pink is the New Blog

Hayden Panettiere, Lindsay Lohan, papparazzi, celebrities, Heroes

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what makes someone a celebrity. Not the obvious “been in the tabloids, everyone knows his/her name & face, etc.” thing, but what gets a person to that status. It’s not always talent - Angelina Jolie wasn’t in that many blockbusters before we knew who she was (Tomb Raider was the first major film I can think of that she was in. Hackers was awesome but small time, and Gia was made-for-TV)., yet somehow in there she did some weird stuff (dating a female porn star, wearing Billy Bob’s blood, kissing her brother), and BAM she’s a celebrity. Paris Hilton was born into money and BAM she’s famous. So it’s not always going platinum or winning an award or doing something really worthwhile. It’s not always simply being conventionally pretty, either - if that were the only requirement, there would be millions of famous people instead of just a few thousand. It’s not just flashing some shaven vulva or some boobie when you’re drunk, because if that were the case a million sorority girls would be famous. It’s not just starring in a movie or making out with Colin Farrel. What is it? What’s the magic combination? Or is it just luck?

musings, late postings, celebrity

Though by the time most of you read this, it will be Thursday.

Reader DaveP commented on last week’s Wednesday Playlist that “Price of Gas” and “She’s Hearing Voices” are better Bloc Party songs than “The Prayer.”

So this week’s Wednesday Playlist: “Price of Gas” and “She’s Hearing Voices,” brought to you by DaveP, moving-induced nuttiness, a desire to strangle whoever invented crepe paper, and the number Q.

Bloc Party, British music, indie music, She’s Hearing Voices, Price of Gas