Why do people care that David Letterman had sex with his female staff members? He has never claimed to be some sort of moral authority. Did anyone assume that Dave was a perfect boyfriend or husband? I mean, he did date his now wife, Regina Lasko, for 20 years before popping the question. That doesn't sound like it could have been the most ideal situation to me. He's a comedian. His job is to make us laugh each night and conduct interesting interviews and to make CBS money, all of which he does very well. Plus, comedians and most people in show business for that matter, aren't exactly notorious for being monogamous. Do we expect anything less out of celebrities? It's like saying Brad Pitt should be fired from a movie or denied work because he cheated on Jennifer Aniston.
I think Dave did the right thing by informing the world of his situation, after all, you can't be blackmailed when everyone already knows your business. I hear people are saying he should resign from his show...Are you kidding me? Bill Clinton stayed in office, Letterman can stay on TV. He didn't break any laws. All of the women that have been implicated as his partners claim these were consensual relationships. If it were sexual harassment they would have filed those charges years ago when the affairs happened. Everybody needs to get over it and start focusing their outrage on issues that matter. I understand the difference had this been a politician, a religious figure, or someone whose moral character has an affect people's lives. Dave is an entertainer and his private life and sexual exploits only affect the people directly involved.
Technology is pretty great. I am amazed at some of the stuff that people come up with and actually make function. But every so often I find myself thinking that something super simple could be done to improve said technology. Here are my ideas.
Sometimes I don't know what music I feel like listening to for day. I find myself resorting to the shuffle function on my iPod. Now, I have a lot of beef with the shuffle feature and how it decides what songs to play (see ***), but that's a whole other story. Anywho, when by chance it does bring up something interesting that feels right you have to go through about 5 different steps (including scrolling to through albums and artists) to get to the album the song is on or the artist who made it...Not the best idea when you're driving. Why isn't there a feature that lets you click a button when you're in the shuffle function and displays that artist's albums? That way you could just click a button scroll through a limited number of albums and songs until you find exactly what you're looking for.
Next on the list of things to make better is Twitter. I am completely obsessed with Twitter. While personally I don't "tweet" very often I love reading my twitter feed. It really is an amazing way to get information. While I subscribe to the personal Twitter feeds of celebrities like John Mayer, "The Office" writer and actress Mindy Kaling and a few friends but what I love the most are the feeds from places like E! and the Riverfront Times giving all the latest updates in a short, concise manner.
When I come home from work in the afternoon and sit down and check Twitter I have to scroll down several pages to find where I left off last (usually the previous evening) and read from the bottom to the top as to not miss any information. What Twitter should offer is a function to type in a time and date and then post all tweets since that time and allow you to switch the order to display the oldest at the top of the page and the most recent towards the bottom. Ok, this sounds like I am a Twitter freak to read every bit of information but if you don't use twitter you don't understand- reading an entire days worth of tweets from the 58 people/websites I follow at most takes about 15 minutes. Twitter makes it so easy for me to get a lot of information in a small amount of time but they could make it even easier if they developed my idea.
These changes are good ideas and would seriously take some computer genius only a couple of hours to make available to the world. Be sure to read below for my unrelated rant about iTunes Shuffle.
***How the hell does the shuffle even work? I want to know what it's thinking when it decides to play basically all the shittiest songs on my iPod one right after another. I have what some may say is an interesting taste in music which sometimes means I have live bootleg audio of Broadway shows in my library and shuffle decides to play a dialogue scene from "Wicked," and when you skip it then next song up to bat is an obscure tune from a imported German Backstreet Boys album. Using shuffle when in the presence of friends is a bad idea, at least with my iTunes library. I know it is just a machine but it really has a knack for playing the most annoying songs on my iPod.
If you haven't already heard John Mayer's new single, "Who Says," off the highly anticipated album, "Battle Studies," go here and have a listen.
Upon first listen I was a little confused and in disbelief that this is the single. I can't imagine hearing this on the radio. I can't imagine radio stations playing a song with the opening line, "Who says I can't get stoned?" It's not that I didn't like the song, but it was not what I was expecting. I was expecting a radio-friendly jingle. John Mayer's record company is notorious for picking the cheesiest song on his album and making them into mass-marketable singles that play over Hallmark commercials (i.e. "Your Body is a Wonderland," "Daughters," "Say" etc...). It's not that I don't like these songs, but true Mayer fans know that the really good stuff is on the album.
Ok, so the first listen was out of the way and I played it on a loop for a good 15 minutes (ok, 15 minutes=all day, who am I kidding?) and my thoughts began to wander while listening to the lyrics. I went to JM's Battle Studies website and re-watched his series of videos documenting the making of this album and it all seemed to click. Listening to the lyrics I feel like I know exactly what he's going through. JM has made no secret of his disdain for the "womanizing douchebag" status the tabloids and gossip blogs give him. He hates his reputation and is really sensitive about the grief he gets over it.
He took to his twitter last May saying, "I love how some dudes hate me for dating their fantasy girl, as if they were going to if I hadn’t. Showbiz types’ are people who grew up talking to themselves alone in a room for hours until they found some sort of outlet. Once they found that outlet, everything fell into place, except for the fact that they still never worked out why they still talk so much. So you see, though filled with deep emotional voids that can never be filled, Showbiz Types are an important part of our Nation’s tapestry. I’m a Showbiz Type. (cue penny whistle and marching drums) But I am not a douche!!"
I feel like this song is in response to our quickness to define him by this reputation rather than enjoy his music. Kind of like a big "F-you" to the haters. I applaud his record company for letting him take chances with this single and the album as a whole. John was given the freedom on this album to build a recording studio in his house and take his time to create a record completely different from his super-successful 2006 album, "Continuum." In Battle Studies video two, John says, "How do I follow 'Continuum?' We just say, you don't follow it at all. You just leave it. And you step to the side and you begin something completely new." And this is something completely new, something we haven't heard from him yet. I am excited about the possibilities of this record. The song "Who Says," seems like a totally folky chant that will be fun to sing along with in concert.
One of the most interesting verses in the song says, "Who says I can't get stoned? Plan a trip to Japan alone Doesn't matter if I even go Who says I can't get stoned?"
Which is funny, because John Mayer did just that and made a really beautiful video documenting his experience. Here's his description of the video, "Seven songs in... lots going on. Took a week off and traveled Japan. Wanted to get really quiet so I could hear what my head was saying. Two words of advice: travel alone. Music via an 8am jetlag pop-awake and Native Instruments Acoustik Piano. I took a break from still photography and used a Panasonic HVX200 HD camera. I stayed still, let life move in front of me. Man, am I deep!"
"Battle Studies," comes out November 17 and "Who Says," will probably be available on iTunes in the next couple of weeks. Do you like the song? Hate John Mayer? Leave comments!
I mentioned it two weeks ago, but I'll say it again....There was simply not enough Russell Brand in the MTV Video Music Awards. I really gained respect for Brand over the summer when I read his auto-biography, "My Booky Wook." What can I say about this book? It's not for children, that's for sure. It made for very entertaining beach reading. I would be cracking up while reading and my family would ask what was so funny, how was I suppose to respond? "Well mom, Russell just can't pass up a good orgy," and then go on to explain his hilarious anecdotes about the creepiest orgy's he's ever attended?
Brand is only in his mid-thirties, but it's safe to say he's led a very interesting life. He details his experiences with his estranged father, his various television shows in England, his firings from those TV shows, his out of control drug use, rehabilitation, crazy sex exploits, rehabilitation and his infinite wisdom on enjoying life. I mean that last part, Brand is actually very existential and philosophical. While reading the book it's best to imagine Russell speaking to you in his accent and telling the stories with his eccentric mannerisms.
Since I was upset about the lack of Brand on MTV, I netflixed his comedy special, "Russell Brand in New York City," which he filmed after his VMA hosting duties last year. His set is only an hour long so there is really no reason not to watch it. I thought the first 35 minutes were really solid and funny. The end started to sink a little, but funny nonetheless. I actually preferred one of his stand-up shows taped in England, "Russell Brand, Doing Life," which I watched in seven parts on youtube. Here's the first video which will link to all seven parts.
If you like Russell Brand you need to see him do some real stand up and screw the VMA's.
For the first time in a long time, I felt like last night's Emmy Awards were a well-produced, fast paced award show. It could have to do with the fact that I watched it 3 hours after it aired and was able to speed through the commercials or it could have to do with the fact that Neil Patrick Harris kicked butt as host. There weren't any awkward skits or montages. Everything they put together had a purpose and moved the show right a long.
Here are my thoughts that I jotted down throughout the show.
I love Kristin Chenoweth! She won Best Supporting Actress for a Comedy Series for "Pushing Daisies," and man did she lose it on stage. She could barely hold it together. I found out today that she actually had to be treated by a medic last night for a terrible migraine.
Jack McBrayer and Rainn Wilson were robbed for Best Supporting Actor. I feel like Jon Cryer has won before. I would have really have loved to hear a Jack McBrayer acceptance speech.
Justin Timberlake looked like a big nerd in glasses. They were way too wide for his face. I think it's funny that they moved the award he was nominated for to the main show (instead of the Creative Arts Emmy's that took place last week) so that he could appear, and he didn't even win.
I'm so, so happy for Toni Collette and her win for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for "United States of Tara." If you've seen the show you know how amazingly talented she is being able to pull off the characters she plays. She looked beautiful, the dress was a perfect color for her hair and skin.
Blake Lively and Leighton Meester from "Gossip Girl," presented an award together and they both looked pretty bad. Blake was showing waaaayyy too much boob. It was embarrassing. Leighton Meester looked very pale in white. Not a great look. Her dress kind of looked like Bjork's swan dress.
Why did the guys in Best Actor in a Comedy Series get clips played of them when the ladies nominated for Best Leading Actress were only shown sitting in the audience?? And again, I feel like Alec Baldwin was kind of the obvious winner, I wished Steve Carrell had won.
Time after time winners kept thanking "The Academy" it's the Emmy's, not the Oscars!
I'm over the Kanye jokes.
Yay for Jessica Lange. I wanted her or Drew Barrymore to win for their amazing performances in "Grey Gardens." It really was a great movie. Also, interesting to notice that Drew's Emmy date is her ex-boyfriend, Justin Long, aka the Mac Guy. Which reminds me to give a shout out to the PC Guy, John Hodgman, who gave what they called color commentary while the winners walked to stage. I thought he was pretty funny and it was a nice modern touch to the show.
I was absolutely torn between Aaron Paul in "Breaking Bad" and Michael Emerson from "Lost" for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama. "Breaking Bad" is without a doubt the most intense television show I've ever watched and Aaron Paul is so good it's scary. But of course my heart lies with "Lost."
Seriously, Sarah McLachlan? Does she do anything else but sing utterly depressing songs? I felt her singing "I Will Remember You" was cheesy and overdone and uncalled for. They couldn't have had the live band come up with anything nice to play?
Bryan Cranston for the win! Best Actor in a Drama Series, that is...I could not be more thrilled! His portrayal of the dying-father-turned-drug-dealer, Walter White is the most emotionally moving acting I have ever seen. This show is so outrageous and intense and I recommend you go watch it right now.
I kind of hoped for an upset for Best Comedy Series. I believe that "30 Rock" is deserving but it would have been nice to hear from "Weeds," "The Office," or even "Family Guy" (which I don't think is deserving, but certainly would have been interesting).
Again, I would have loved an upset for Best Drama Series. I tried to get into "Mad Men," but was utterly bored and never made it through the first episode. I would have loved to have seen "Lost," win of course or "Breaking Bad." "Lost" only has one year left to win!
Go here for the complete list of winners and here for the red carpet fashions.
Friday night I saw, "The Informant!" directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Matt Damon. I can't really explain why I wanted to see such a film on opening night but I thought the previews made it look funny and perhaps I fell into the trap of Joel McHale's self promotion on "The Soup," every week. Turns out, McHale's part isn't very big and is actually pretty serious.
If you're not aware, this movie is based on the true story of Mark "Corky" Whitacre (Damon), a corporate executive at a lysine (some sort of corn product) plant, ADM, in Decatur, Illinois, who rats out his entire company for being a part of an international price fixing scheme. I'd be lying if I said I understood all the business lingo and intricacies this plot deals with, but there were only a few parts that I had "Huh?" moments. The heart of the story is not about the actual crime itself but how Whitacre deals with the FBI, his co-workers and family through his years of undercover work in the 1990's.
Throughout all of these horribly dry business situations we're able to hear Whitacre's inner-dialogue which makes the movie. He quips lines about little anecdotes he's heard before or when meeting the FBI agent (played by Scott Bakula) how he thinks that they could probably be friends and go fishing together. Whitacre is portrayed as this lovable, well educated, family-man good guy, but as the movie goes on we learn that he is a compulsive liar among many other less-than desirable things.
This film is very subtle in its humor and is very dry. It kept me interested through all 108 minutes, but it probably isn't for everyone. Leaving the theatre, I could hear a group of 20-somethings in front of us complaining about how boring the film was and how one of them fell asleep. I don't know if they just didn't know what they were getting into, or what. Heaven forbid you see a comedy that has a little bit of meat behind it. There are also small parts played by comedians like Patton Oswald and Tony Hale if that makes you more interested. I thought Damon was fantastic and funny and I'd recommend the movie to a friend.
This past Thursday evening I sat down to watch what felt like a million hours of television. Here's what was on my schedule....
I started off the evening with "The Office." This episode, "Gossip," was everything I had been missing from TV all summer. From the opening sequences of Michael, Dwight and Andy trying their hand at parkour, to finding out Stanley is a cheating whore, Jim and Pam being as cute as ever and Andy questioning his sexuality. "The Office" has not lost any steam since last year's comeback season. I almost cried from laughing too hard during this scene where Kevin confronts Andy about the rumors he's heard about his sexuality.
Next, was the premiere of "Community." I'm still undecided about this show. I love Joel McHale but the pilot didn't give me the haha feelings I expected. It could be because it had to spend too much time establishing characters and situations. I'm not giving up but I wasn't thrilled. Oh, and why was Joel wearing a sweater and a blazer with adidas track pants?
After "Community" it was time for "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." It did not disappoint. Is it just me or was Dee looking a little haggard? Regardless, I loved her scenes meeting with the couple who wanted to use her as a surrogate.
"Project Runway," was somewhat exciting with an interesting challenge to create an outfit completely out of newspaper. I was disappointed when Irina won, I thought her trench coat looked like something made for Cruella Deville. My favorites were Chris, Carol-Hannah, and Althea's designs. The whole Johnny lying situation was laughable but totally blown out of proportion. "Models of the Runway," is still dumb and I don't know why I'm still watching it.
Then came the much hyped episode of "Chelsea Lately" with Jennifer Aniston as her guest. Chelsea always defends Aniston like crazy and so I was thinking this was going to be a really interesting interview with Chelsea making Jen squirm by bringing up some dirt. It didn't happen. It was interesting to see how Chelsea reacted to an A-list celebrity on her show, but it was the same interview Jen's been giving all of town this week.
Finally, John Mayer tweeted Thursday afternoon that he would be appearing on "Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory" that evening. I knew Rob and John were friends so I of course had to tune in. Wow. This episode exceeded my expectations. It was basically the behind-the-scenes look at the paparazzi stunts these two have pulled in the past and how much they upset Rob's mom (see drunk Rob and classy gents). These two are a hilarious pair and the episode was great. It ended up with the two recording a song for Rob's mom to apologize for embarrassing her.
You should probably just youtube "Rob's Mom" for the full version of the song and other funny clips of the show. Or just watch the full episode next time it airs on MTV which I'm sure it will be rerun a thousand times.
