Underrated by who?

EW.com has a gallery of TV actresses they say are "Wildly Underrated."

I certainly don't disagree that any of their choices (of those with whom I am familiar) are worthy of praise.

Alyson Hannigan:

the women of Mad Men,



Summer Glau,



Maura Tierney,

Kristen Bell, and Jennifer Carpenter.

All do very interesting work.

As underrated actresses go, and expanding the field to include movies, I'd add: Drew Barrymore
(check Mad Love sometime),

Shawnee Smith,

The women of Friday Night Lights, from Connie Britton to Stephanie Hunt,


Charisma Carpenter,

and, of course, Tara Reid. No, I'm kidding about that last one.

Maybe.

Build a better one a those, China

Hayden Panettiere, in a bikini, swimming with a dolphin.

Why I decided to stop reading Daily Kos and just go to the zoo

It's not because I think they get things wrong, I don't, for the most part. And I know it's one of the most influential blogs out there. However, reading this today just made me feel sad and scared.

The coolest thing I've ever seen

A hot chick showing how to make a sound like a Wookie.

How To Make the Chewbacca Noise
Uploaded by Howcast. - College experience videos.

Were I ever to go out with a girl who could do this, I honestly don't know whether I'd feel utterly freaked out, or just have no choice but to marry her.

Now for a happier note...

Obama said he would not abide "those who would bend the truth or break it to score political points and stop our progress as a country." He accused the [insurance] industry of "filling the airwaves with deceptive and dishonest ads," sending money and lobbyists to Capitol Hill and paying for studies "designed to mislead the American people."

"It's smoke and mirrors," the president added. "It's bogus."

...and it makes me stupidly happy to see an American President using the slang of a 1982 teen in defending health reform.

I shall sleep soundly tonight.

god forbid someone might fight for children who are not just like the GOP.

(How many Boogey men they have in their closets notwithstanding)

Personally, I like it better when they just say they hate gays. Makes it so much simpler than when they try to keep muddying the waters.

Case in point. Remember that post I wrote last week about the shameful way idiots like Sean Hannity were drawing a false connection between a man who now works for President Barack Obama and NAMBLA?

Which in turn was an outgrowth of a fantasy they'd concocted about the man, Kevin Jennings: That he had failed in his duty when, as a school counselor, he learned of the sexual abuse of a child and did nothing about it.

The fact that this never happened has, of course, done nothing to stop them from screeching and caterwauling about it. Concealing (they think) their homophobia by wrapping it in a pious desire to keep children safe.

Fortunately, most of the country is not bigoted; most of the country knows we need equality. Unfortunately, there is some question as to whether or not the Obama administration--which has been treating the Fox republicans more like doted-on children than I'd like--will fight for it.

(I mean, I'd like to say so, but could I then look at myself in the mirror?)

Anyway, the latest is that 53 right wing conservatives have signed a letter to the president asking him to fire Jennings.

This letter makes little pretense of keeping up the veil trying to mask anti-gay feelings as merely those of concerned parents:

Throughout his career, Mr. Jennings has made it his mission to establish special protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students to the exclusion of all other students. The totality of Mr. Jennings' career has been to advocate for public affirmation of homosexuality. There is more to safe and drug free schools than can be accomplished from the narrow view of Mr. Jennings who has, for more than 20 years, almost exclusively focused on promoting the homosexual agenda.

Ah. So it's not the sexual abuse of a child--itself in this case, the product of your own sick little minds--that bothers you.

Good to know.

I've always been suspicious of the fact that the NRA is run by a man with the wimpiest name I've ever seen.

And my name is "Ben Varkentine," for crying out loud. But c'mon, "Wayne LaPierre?" They buy that?

But anyway, the NRA's latest thing is calls telling Americans that Hillary Clinton and the UN are coming to take away the only things that make them feel like real men!

Really.

Why the '80s were better than the '70s: #6, 295 in a series

Scott Baio: What were we thinking?

What do you get when you combine a washed up child star and unimpeded access to a computer keyboard? Apparently, in the case of Scott Baio -- one-time "Happy Days" and "Charles in Charge" heartthrob -- the result is a stream of vitriolic statements about "liberals" and a flame war with some random person.

For the record, I thought Scott Baio was a schmuck, long before we knew he was a dick.

Looking for something serious to read on this Saturday?

Here's a lengthy, but unusual, look at President Barack Obama as a writer. It'll take you about five minutes to read, but IMO it's well worth your time. Here's a little something to whet your appetite.

“I think he sees the world through a writer’s eye,” says senior White House adviser and former Chicago journalist David Axelrod. “I’ve always appreciated about him his ability to participate in a scene and also reflect on it. I mean, I remember when we were meeting clandestinely with the guys who were vetting the vice presidential candidates. There was this courtly southern gentleman who was doing the vetting. The president said to me, ‘This whole scene’s right out of a Grisham novel.’

(Admittedly, I think a familiarity with the work of Grisham doesn't do much to keep the President's literary bona fides afloat--but it gets better)

As you might imagine, this is making zealots sad

(or should I say sad-er?)

The "C" in "CNN" does not stand for "credibility"

Have a look at this story from CNN.com:

Democrats chastise Snowe over health care 'influence'

Ok. First of all, this is another Headline that does not jibe with its story, because the story says:

Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Virginia, said he understands how important it is to President Obama to be able to call his health care bill bipartisan.

"It looks as though the way the White House is maneuvering right now, that it is incredibly important to them to get at least one Republican, that being Olympia Snowe."

"This is the United States of America. This is not the United States of Maine," said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-California. "I mean that one senator cannot hold the entire nation's health care plan hostage."

Get it? They're not chastising Snowe, but rather, the Obama White House, for their apparent focus on her at the expense of what the Amerian people both want and need. Democrats have said, and do in this story, that they dislike the "trigger" option Snowe wants:

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, blasted the idea of a trigger option.

"The idea that we are going to succumb to the insurance industry's fears and then do a trigger, which means that our constituency -- the American people -- will delay in getting a public option, that's like the house of cards just collapsing on top of us," she said.

But one last time: That's disagreeing on an issue of substance. It's not "chastising" anybody.

But then, CNN has made this story about "Democrats vs."

the challenge now for Democrats is that Snowe opposes what most of them support: a government-sponsored health care option.

Except that the so-called "public option" is what most Americans support (and most doctors). I find that important information, and I would've included it in the story.

Certainly before I would've quoted someone as silly as John Boehner, who says Christians are born that way, but gays aren't (and that's just his latest asinine statement).

CNN gives space to a content-free statement from him, I guess because they're forever in search of that false equivalence.

And like that, another part of the '80s childhood is gone

The new, slutty Rainbow Brite.

Kim Kardashian achives life's ambition

"as" Barbie.

Trying to make saving the earth cool and failing epically

Full cred for best efforts, though.

See, Scarlett? Like this.

80's FLASHBACK MAKEUP

From neon brights to fishnet stockings, video killed the radio star all over again on the runways, with many designers conjuring up the bawdy 80's as escapism from the current recession.

Time now for another important question: Why doesn't this work?

I mean, we have Scarlett Johansson, who ain't a bad-looking woman...she may or may not be stupid, but she ain't a bad-looking woman. And here she's in a sort of homage to the '80s, which as we know, I love.

And yet: Meh.

Photos via Hollywood Tuna

Are they kidding me with this?

"First Thoughts" on MSNBC.com touts an AP piece that asks:

"is [Obama's] do-everything, be-everywhere leadership style in tune with the times?"

Um...yeah!

Obama is still liked by over half the country. He's shown himself willing to shoot for some big game (mixed-metaphorically speaking). I haven't liked the way he's taken every shot either, no one could unless they were blind Obama-worshippers. And between you and me, I think there's always been less of those than the GOP would like to believe.

But, if we do have a President who might be trying to keep too many balls in the air...well, I still remember the guy before who dropped every single one. I think we'll let this new, lanky fellow work a bit more of his act on us before we get the cane, youknowutImean?

MSNBC adds:

Obama’s constant presence is raising the ire of the GOP’s dispirited base, which could translate into big Republican vote against the president’s style during the mid-term elections.

Uh-Huh. Problem is, candidates who pander to "the GOP’s dispirited base" are not electable.

I won't even get into the part where the AP asks...they actually ask...whether or not one of Obama's problems might be that he's too articulate. I won't get into that, because if I do, I know I'll just give myself a headache...

The insane anti-sex, bland-language-loving, antifeminist Republicans strike again

It was supposed to be an innocuous image – a playful snapshot of Meghan McCain’s “night in” with Andy Warhol’s autobiography.

But the self-taken image of a pouty Meghan McCain, daughter of former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, posted to TwitPic Wednesday night – and her profanity-laden Tweets in response to other users’ comments – has caused an uproar...

Oh, for the love of...ok, first of all, here's the picture. Yes, Megan McCain has big breasts, and big breasts make for big cleavage.

But do you see anything in that picture that should inspire anything more than (perhaps) a lusty thought or two? Much less an "uproar?"

And as for "profanity-laden Tweets," they're reprinted in this entry.

She used the word "fuck." Once.

Let us be clear: A 25-year-old woman chose to take and post a picture that revealed part of her bosom. After being harassed and called a slut for this, she chose to us a profane word in describing her response.

And somehow, the world just kept on turning.

Ever see a movie just swerve into a ditch?

Management is like watching people you like get into a car, close the doors, drive off and plunge over a cliff.

One of the people is played by Jennifer Aniston, reminding us that beneath all the sitcom stuff (good and bad) and paint-by-numbers romantic comedies, there actually is an actress.

Given inspired direction, she's capable of creating thinking, human people onscreen. Stephen Belber, whose debut as a director this is, has helped her do just that...at least in his direction. As a writer, he over plots here; throws too many obstacles in his stars' way.

All the obstacles (and conflict) these two people need are built into their characters. It is evident that the spinning out corporate career woman Aniston plays really likes Steve Zahn's blindly optimistic loser.

Not because it's in the script--or at least, not just because of that--and she has to, but because the characters have real chemistry. (This, as the Supreme Court once said about porn, is something I may not be able to define, but I know when I see it.)

But Aniston's character is stuck between security and romance, and Zahn needs to make something work for himself. Get it? Ok, so in the early parts of this movie, like just over the first half, it "manages" (sorry) to get past a lot of places where it could've misfired.

It's a bit like watching Indiana Jones trying not to put a foot wrong as he raids the ancient temple. Zahn's performance helps a lot in keeping him from being creepy stalker guy, but what really puts it over is Aniston's reaction to him.

One of the reasons her performance is so good in this section, is that we see her taking each step carefully in her mind, weighing the risks and consequences of letting herself be touched (emotionally) by and touching this goofy man.

But the more I write about this, the more I think I'm finding that I really didn't like this movie. The reason is that, like some heart tease, just as you've put your trust into it...the movie betrays you.

Worse, it betrays itself....no worse yet, it betrays those characters, by suddenly turning their story into...well, into a bad sitcom, paint-by-numbers romantic comedy. It becomes the kind of movie you want to pick up and shake, in hopes that all the bad parts will somehow magically fall away.

Chief among these: Woody Harrelson, who is miscast in the first place, and whose character should've been cut from the movie altogether in the second place. He plays the Aniston's character's ex-boyfriend, to whom she returns when she's in the "I really like the Steve Zahn character, but of course I can't be with him" stage.

I swear I almost fell asleep just typing that sentence.

We know he's not a real threat, we never get the sense that Aniston even likes him. So all the while he's onscreen, we're just thinking "Yeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeah, get back to Aniston and Zahn, I want to see those characters keep on holding each other's hands!"

Eventually, of course, we do, but only after way too many things just "happen" to fall into place. Some of the "twists" of the script would've seemed unrealistic in a Muppet movie.

And it goes from being a beautiful song to a lie.

Dear Harry: Don't fuck this up, you bland mothafucker

"This" being Health-Care Reform:

The notion that anyone is now actually in control of this process is an illusion. But to the extent that anyone's hand is on the tiller, it is Reid's. Over the next four weeks, it is Reid who will decide whether to permit votes — and in what order — on amendments that could make the final version look very different from the one approved Tuesday afternoon by the Finance Committee. There will be fights over the lack of a public option in the bill, and efforts to reinstate one.

Of all five bills, only the Senate Finance Committee's garnered any GOP support and that came in the form of the single vote of Maine's Olympia Snowe. And Snowe made it clear that her support on final passage is by no means assured, rattling off a laundry list of changes she'd like to see made.

Adding to the drama is the fact that Reid is facing re-election next year, and for the first time since 1998 he may face a challenge. Reid is already losing in polls to not one but two GOP challengers. Outside groups ranging from unions to business associations have spent $2 million either lauding Reid for his work on health care or demonizing him for socializing it, according to TNS C-MAG, a group that tracks political commercials. The split in the ads has been 60% negative, 40% positive. Reid has pledged to raise $25 million to defend himself.

In 2004, Senate minority leader Tom Daschle became the first leader in nearly 50 years to lose his seat. In the months before the election he was paralyzed in the Senate, afraid to do anything that might make him more vulnerable. Reid, it seems, is taking the opposite approach. "It's always difficult being in leadership when you're up for re-election," says Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, a member of the Democratic leadership who faced a tough re-election in 2004. "But Harry's very, very committed. He understands the important role he has in history."

Courtney Love: The trainwreck continues.

You've "heard" me talk about Ms. Cobain before. I know she's sometimes incoherent, but I still think she should get her own TV show; she still means something to me god knows why. So, this is just the latest update:

Courtney Love no longer casts a huge shadow over Twitter with her incessant postings, and a possible reason for her lack of online presence has surfaced. Officials in Los Angeles County have filed a federal tax lien against Love, saying she owes $324,335.21 in unpaid taxes. Clearly, she has more important matters on her hands than Twitter.

Yes!

January Jones:



Why you try to put up a front for me? I'm a spy, but on your side you see...



Slip, oh, into any disguise; I'll still know you, Look into my private eyes...

Via Popoholic.

I feel one of my patented self-evident statements coming on...

...Charisma Carpenter is one hot babe of a bitch.




(or bitch of a babe, whatever).

I won't be able to take it if she just breaks my heart again

The creator of the Gilmore Girls is coming to HBO. Exec-Producer Amy Sherman-Palladino has signed a deal to develop a dramedy for the cable network. She described the project as the "story of love, hate, family — and finding the perfect opening line,"

I used to have something of a mad crush on Sherman-Palladino (a hottie who can write with a magic touch, what did you think was gonna happen?). This ended, not because she left Gilmore Girls, but because the show she left it to do was such a slap in the face...

God bless you (please), Mrs. Jackson

Pop star Michael Jackson's three children "are not part of" the A&E reality show many of his family members have been taping over the past several months, the network said Wednesday.

Michael Jackson's children Paris, Prince and "Blanket" will not be part of an A&E reality show, the network says.

US Weekly magazine quoted an unidentified source as saying -- despite a sharp division in the Jackson family over the matter -- that Prince, 12, Paris, 11, and Blanket, 7, would be included in the show.

According to other reports Michael's mother Katherine, who has legal custody of her grandchildren, has said they will not be on TV "in her lifetime." Stay healthy into the next decade, Mrs. Jackson--your grandchildren need you.

"The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty," which focuses on the lives of Michael Jackson's brothers, was in the works before the singer's June 25 death.

One of the most insane things about the Jacksons--not exactly hurting for insane things--is this: I think they actually believe that the reason Michael burned so much hotter than the rest of them (with the obvious exception of Janet) was a matter of mere luck.* It wasn't.

I want to be fair: The Jacksons were--maybe still are--gifted entertainers.** But Michael was an artist, and there is a difference.

*And no, obviously I don't know them, but I've read a number of bios and other books so I can say that's at least a semi-informed opinion...

"Break me off a piece of that," I believe is the phrase

Tyra Banks as a young model.





Via Cityrag.

A jot of Jigsaw

Headlines that do not jibe with their story

Headline:

Madeline Zima Says It Was 'Awkward' Kissing Hayden Panettiere On 'Heroes'

From that, one might infer that Miss Zima does not like kissing other girls.

The actual quote:

"It's always awkward, no matter if it's a boy, a girl or whatever. It's just an awkward thing to kiss somebody in front of other people..."

Slightly different, no?

Emmy Rossum is clearly trying to regain my favor once again

And I'm not saying it isn't working...

Just when you thought that DADT could not possibly be any more inhumane...

Turns out, it's not only homophobic, it's sexist as well:

Women are far more likely than men to be kicked out of the military under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy against gays in uniform, according to government figures released Thursday that critics said reflect deep-seated sexism in the armed forces.

Nathaniel Frank, a researcher at the Palm Center, a University of California, Santa Barbara, center specializing in gays and the military, said one partial explanation is that homosexuality is more common among women in the service than among their male comrades.

But Frank and some women who served in the military said the gap could also be a result of "lesbian-baiting" rumors and investigations that arise when women rebuff sexual overtures from male colleagues or do not meet traditional notions of feminine beauty.

"It's very clear the military comes down harder on women than on men, but the question of whether they come down harder on lesbians than on gay men is harder to answer," said Palm Center director Aaron Belkin. "We don't know whether the statistics reflect lesbian-baiting or just a higher rate of lesbians in the military."

Frank said the increases are all the more surprising because the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was largely driven by the argument that "straight men won't tolerate serving alongside known gays."

Tara Reid decides that botched plastic surgeries are nothing compared to a botched career

As one or two of you may remember, I have a kind of love for Tara Reid. She's just so darn cute, and I support her decision rarely to ever wear pants. All jokes aside (well-mostly) I've seen pictures of her with no makeup, and feel I can say that she's truly one of the best-looking women in the world.

But it's not a blind love. I accept that she needs to have a long talk with her agent (actually, she needed to have it at least five years ago); I also see her as a poster child for women who have wholly unnecessary plastic surgery.

My point being, I have a moral dilemma about this:

...the "American Pie" star is going to pose nude for an upcoming issue of Playboy. The photoshoot was conducted on October 7th at a private Santa Monica residence.

Reid is said to have started out the shoot nervous, but grew more comfortable as the day wore on. A source commented:

"She was a bit insecure about her body when they first started . . . She looked great and finally got into the groove."

The actress had previously said that the scars left from a bad liposuction procedure in 2004 would keep her from ever posing in the magazine.

Those scars are nothing compared to the ones left on her career by movies like "The Crow - Wicked Prayer" and "Alone in the Dark"...

If looks could kill, they probably will In games without frontiers...

Jim Emerson at Scanners has an early review (w/a couple of images!) of Terry Gilliam's Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus.

Spoiler-free, unless you think of scene setting as spoilers. It ends:

"Imaginarium" reminds us that we are always inhabiting more than one "reality" at any given moment -- memory, the physical present, fantasy -- and that the totality of those experiences is what our existence is really made of. While it's not Gilliam's strongest work (that would probably be "Munchausen," but I'd like to put in a small plug here for the darker, grossly [!] underrated "Tideland"), it's another fanciful chapter in a body of work that is fiercely devoted to celebrating imagination in all its guises. I don't know how he does it, but leave it to Terry Gilliam to make CGI look like vintage animation. Bravo for that!

And bravo about liking Tideland, with a hearty "me, too!"

Updated from an earlier entry of Least newsworthy headlines:

Heath Ledger was missed at Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus premiere, says Terry Gilliam

As if he was going to say, "Thank God that shit isn't here..."

...okay, so this is Gilliam, and he might've...

Think what you will about the fact that I will see Saw VI in the theater and probably this on DVD*

Roger Ebert makes me want to see Trucker. His first paragraph:

There's one of those perfect moments in "Trucker" when I'm thinking, This is the moment to end! Now! Fade to black! And the movie ends. It is the last of many absolutely right decisions by the first-time writer-director James Mottern, who began by casting two actors who bring his story to strong emotional life. Both of them show they're gifted and intelligent artists who only needed, as so many do in these discouraging times, a chance to reveal their deep talents.

*In my defense, Trucker is only in limited release, and those limits do not include Seattle. Saw VI, on the other hand, will be released Oct 23, 2009. Wide (get it?).

Sur-Prize (edited with additions)

I've decided to "bump" this as I come up with updates and additions:

Josh Marshall (editor, Talking Points Memo), on why the President might "deserve" the prize more than some think he does:

Obama has begun, if fitfully and very imperfectly to many of his supporters, to steer the ship of state in a different direction. If that seems like a meager accomplishment to many of the usual Washington types it's a profound reflection of their own enablement of the Bush era and how compromised they are by it, how much they perpetuated the belief that it was 'normal history' rather than dark aberration.

My original entry: To tell you the truth, I'm not sure about this (Obama's Nobel Prize) myself. However, anything that makes Republican leaders look like crybabies stamping their little feet cannot possibly be all bad.

Seriously, this is awesome.

ETA: Michael Moore congratulates President Obama, but adds:

You have to end our involvement in Afghanistan now. If you don't, you'll have no choice but to return the prize to Oslo.

I'm not sure (and I'm willing to admit that), but I think he may have a good point.

ETA 2: Huff asks its readers: What is the Most Outrageous Attack on Obama's Nobel Peace Prize? As you might expect, Rush is in the lead, but Glenn is breathing down his neck (and I use that imagery just because I know it'll make them see red).

Limbaugh told Newsweek that "the Nobel gang just suicide-bombed themselves."

And that's not even his winning entry. Meanwhile, Beck:

"[The] Nobel Peace Prize should be turned down by Barack Obama and given ... to the Tea Party goers and the 9-12 Project"

Comers, both. But I say, don't count out the heretofore unknown Brian Kilmeade, who wondered whether Obama delayed his decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan in order to win the Nobel. That scrappy little Fox "news" reporter is really thinking out of the box...

Pop music light as a bubble

Nothing much more to say about it than that.

Holy crap.

Thug life:

For the offense of not having his shirt tucked in, 15-year-old special needs student Marshawn Pitts was slammed into a wall of lockers and pounded repeatedly in the face by a police officer who broke the boy's nose and bloodied his mouth.

Wait, there's more:

Cop who assaulted teen now in jail on rape charge; shot ex-wife's new husband 24 times in 'self defense'

Prez as Folk

Nathaniel Frank, who wrote one of my favorite books this year (Unfriendly Fire: How The Gay Ban Undermines The Military And Weakens America, my review here) writes a piece for HuffPo on what he hopes the President will say in his speech about/to/for gay people tomorrow. Excerpts:

What President Obama can do at this speech is to model how a genuine straight ally can do his or her part to help end discrimination against gay people. Yes, he's the President, and so he ought to do much more. But until he does, he should be sharing our stories with the world, to help make it clear why equal rights matter--to gays and non-gays alike. Show the world, Mr. President, how we are just like you, and perhaps more important, how you are just like us: In what ways are we pretty normal, and in what ways are you kinda Queer?

How are you like us, Mr. President? Your love for your family is just as important to you and just as prone to fragility; you've worked hard and paid your taxes and, like us, wanted to believe your government wouldn't slap a surcharge on your life just because of whom you love; and, despite what you've achieved, you've suffered discrimination and denigration because you're seen as different. Like it or not, you're Queer like us!

On a completely unrelated matter:

Tom Cruise, fashion police !:

Katie Holmes surely has a hot critique of her dressing style—hubby Tom Cruise. Talking in the November issue of Elle, the actress, 30, has said that Cruise, 47, often critiques her clothes.

"He usually likes everything, but sometimes I'll walk out and he'll say, ''I think that dress might be wearing you. You don't need that,"

Sounds perfectly sweet* to me

There's a bit of a fuss being made on one or two sites about some comments Hilary Swank made in an interview.

...said that she has no qualms about being naked in front of her boyfriend John Campisi`s six-year-old son.


However, the ``P.S. I Love You`` actress has admitted that she might have to start covering up soon.

"I don`t sleep in anything, but my boyfriend`s son is six years old, and you wonder at what age you should stop walking around nude. Every morning he comes into the bedroom, and you`re just nude. But he doesn`t look twice - he doesn`t think about it yet,” Contactmusic quoted her as telling America`s Marie Claire magazine.

*"Sweet" in the sense of "free from acidity or sourness."

Heather, I adore ya, but I think that dress has cut off circulation to your brain

Talent-poor but richly-breasted movie star Heather Graham thinks President Obama was elected because she and her witch friends cast a spell. I am not making this up.

Pink is a cheese puff of a hot bitch

Or vice-versa.




Via Hollywood Tuna

This may be worth keeping an eye out for...

Bradley Whitford, former star of The West Wing, has signed for a new series by the creator of Burn Notice.

Unanswerable questions

Why men in drag are funny, and women in drag are hot.

Why Torchwood is lame, in one picture

ETA: It's not Captain Jack, it's the gun.

Another lesson in just how very screwed up is our take on women in this country.

Go with me on this: It's fair to say, is it not, that if Kim Kardashian is known for anything--and she's not known for much--it's for being curvy. So why the hell would you Photoshop most--or even any--of those curves out?



I don't know either, but that's what FHM did for this layout (via Hollywood Tuna):

Shame

More because I want to do my bits to get this out than because I have anything new to say about it. But as you may have seen elsewhere, idiots like Sean Hannity are drawing a false connection between President Obama and--wait for it--NAMBLA.

They've concocted this rich (as in "ho ho, that's rich") fantasy about a young boy being sexually molested by an older man and talking to a then-school counselor about it. The counselor, who now works for Obama, did nothing.

How could any human being be so cruel?

...except that no sexual contact of any kind took place, this is about two males talking to each other. Not "dirty" talk--it was an older male homosexual talking to a young man in the process of realizing his sexual orientation.

Better yet, even if the two had all-the-way anal sex, it still wouldn't have been illegal, because the young man in question was 16 at the time, which is the age of consent in the state.

Ironically, I think I may be developing a kind of love for John Derbyshire

He's just so perfectly...fucked, in his thinking.

Yesterday, radio host Thom Hartmann probed Derbyshire about the suffrage issue, and Derbyshire re-affirmed his view that “of course” he believes women should have the right to vote. But, he explained, they shouldn’t exercise that right because it is “bad for conservatism” and therefore “bad for society”:

"I don't mind free women, as long as they act like prisoners in public."

How to give anyone who actually cares about words and the way in which they are used a headache

On CNN’s Larry King Live last night, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) was asked if she agreed with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that birthers are “crazy.” “That’s a non-issue,” replied Bachmann. “In my district, it’s a flat out non-issue.” King and guest James Carville pressed Bachmann to answer the question, but she continued to dodge it by saying her constituents just wanted to know “where are the jobs?” Eventually, King put her on the spot and she voiced support for the birthers:

KING: Congresswoman, I am — Congresswoman, the only thing was the question was simple — do you believe the birthers? Forget the district, forget the jobs for a moment. Do you believe President Obama was born in the United States?

BACHMANN: I have no reason to doubt that he wasn’t born in the United States.

Oh, my head...

Get out of that dress, you innocence stealer

Katy Perry spits in my face.

Love Happens didn't happen, but Jennifer Aniston will still work

...because for every dollar they pay her, her movies make $26. Aniston is one of the top 10 most money-making actresses in Hollywood. Joining her are Naomi Watts, Jennifer Connelly, Rachel McAdams, Natalie Portman, Meryl Streep, , , Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway and Hilary Swank

Finally, someone else is questioning it

All that "Megan Fox is dumb" talk, that is...

It's times like this I'm happy to say I have a bottle of Pepsi chilling in my fridge right now...

Hate and descrimination are not family values.

Today, I empower you to take control over your life. Can you disconnect from the one thing that has brought you and others so much pain?

Y'know...let's say you wanted to split two sides of my soul right down the middle and represent each with pop culture manifestations.

You could do far worse than to have on the one side, representing as 'twere, my devilish nature, my love of Saw. And upon the other, speaking for the childlike, fun-loving, compassionate and dreamy side of me, my Doctor Who fandom.

This is why I'm glad that this morning, I have received talismans of a sort for both of them.

This is the new Doctor Who logo :

This is a second Saw VI trailer.



And here are some shots of the new Doctor and companion (Matt Smith and Karen Gillian) working on the next series.

Everything is connected to everything.