Grab bag
I'm in training today...have to relearn all the software that was second-nature to me not so long ago. But I'll throw a few fun links up as I find them.
EBERT SPEAKS
He calls it a journal, but Web surfers know better: Roger Ebert now has a blog! The cancer-stricken critic may not be able to speak, but his voice rings out as loud as ever. (Via Web Goddess.)
'WHO LIVES DOWN IN DEEPEST, DARKEST AFRICA?'
A co-worker is wondering: If "Speed Racer" is now a big-screen movie, can "Kimba the White Lion" be far behind? Some of us have fond memories of watching the two cartoons back-to-back. Here's a YouTube link to remind you of Kimba. (Thanks to Denise O. and Paige for the link.) And don't miss our "Speed Racer" quiz.
WHEN IN SCRANTON, STAY AT SCHRUTE FARMS
Did you catch John McCain on "The Daily Show" last night suggesting that he had picked Dwight Schrute from "The Office" as his running mate? It might have worked had McCain known who Schrute was...instead he had to stop, pull a cue card out of his pocket, and read the name as if he'd never seen it before. (Note: The NY Times says McCain IS an "Office" fan. Coulda fooled me.)
You can watch the video on Wonkette. But we "Office" fanatics know Dwight would never settle for the #2 spot on the ticket. His platform? Five portions of beets a day for everyone!
HIGH-GULL, not HIGH-JELL
Our own Courtney Hazlett reports that Katharine Heigl may not be long for "Grey's Anatomy." Personally, I like the Izzie character, though not paired with George -- that was just wrong. The NY Daily News somewhat gleefully trashes the actress, but come on. If someone mispronounced my name (and they do, all the time), I think correcting them is just fine. (Daily News link via TV Tattle.)
What are the other blogs talking about? Here's a look at TV and entertainment news from around the Web:
Hey, is this thing on?
Sorry to let Test Pattern get so dusty! But I have an excuse, really! The dog ate my homew -- forget it, you'd never buy that.
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No one knew how to leave a party like the children Von Trapp:
So long, farewell, Au revoir, auf wiedersehen,
I'd like to stay and taste my first champagne
LIESL: Yes?
BARON VON TRAPP: No!
I've got to follow the Von Trapp kids' lead. I'm heading out on maternity leave until 2008, but I'll be leaving Test Pattern in very good hands. My colleagues in the entertainment department will be sharing the blog while I'm gone, and I know they'll bring an entertaining diversity of opinion, commentary, gossip, and random goofy linkage to the site.
I've had a blast with Test Pattern so far, and hope you've enjoyed reading it. The commercial contest is always a hoot, especially when applied directly to your forehead (Ad I'm currently loving: The beer commercial where the axe-wielding hitchhiker doesn't want them to pick up the chainsaw-carrying hitchhiker.)
Some of the misheard lyrics we discussed have now replaced the real lyrics to certain songs in my head. (I am convinced "I am a lineman for the Cowboys" is a much better line than Glen Campbell's "I am a lineman for the county...")
Many of you told me that Multi-link Monday helped you ease into your work week, with its random quizzes, online games, and bizarre links. And we've also discussed goofs in movies, "For Better or For Worse," the Aqua Teens shutting down Boston, the intricacies of "Lost," Super Bowl ads, and much more.
Looking for more blogs? You can't go wrong with any of the sites in my links box at right. Plus, MSNBC's Ads of the Weird blog (updated every Tuesday) keeps up the crazy commercial commentary year round; Will Femia's Clicked is not unlike Multi-link Monday in its randomness; and my office neighbor Alan Boyle keeps tabs on the world of space and science in his Cosmic Log. If you want to keep up with me, I have a personal Weblog, Pop Culture Junk Mail.
And if I'm going to start this entry with a pop-culture quote, I'd better end with one, too. What's that Arnold said so famously? "I'll be bahhck."
I've really been trying to ignore the Lindsay Lohan story, but today's Associated Press article finally tackled the topic I've been wondering about for some time: Does anybody care that Lohan is not yet of legal drinking age, yet seems to be having no trouble getting served alcohol? If a 20-year-old non-celebrity was getting into this much trouble and alcohol was involved, you can bet the servers and bars in question would be in hot water by now, but it takes this long for anyone to notice that Lohan won't turn 21 until July?
Apparently California does have a Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which must have been on vacation for the past few years, and employees of said department have been conducting undercover investigations at "trendy celebrity watering holes." Why don't they just surreptitiously follow Lohan around from club to club? It would seem that if they want to find a trendy spot where the liquor is flowing and the ID is not necessary, they could do worse than to put a tracking device on her.
Taking a long weekend, new posts after the holiday.
Don Imus was all apologies when the fire was raining down on him for calling the Rutgers' women's basketball team names. But he's not taking his firing sitting down, according to Fortune.com. They report that the DJ plans to sue CBS radio for the $40 million remaining on his contract.
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Some readers have complained that "American Idol" is beginning to dominate this Weblog. Sorry about that, but it's likely to play a prominent role in posts here until the show's May finale. It's the 800-pound gorilla of TV right now, and with stories such as the Mario Vazquez lawsuit, the show just keeps pushing itself into the news.
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A week ago, when I wrote about how ridiculous the whole Anna Nicole Smith fight was, I never thought seven days would pass and the poor woman still wouldn't be buried. We need a whole level of vocabulary beyond "ridiculous" to describe the case at this point. Thankfully, it looks as if she will finally be buried Friday, in the Bahamas, with pink flowers and a custom-made gown and a rhinestone blanket covering her coffin.
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We've just witnessed an ugly example of what big money can do for you: It can take away your peace, even after death.
If Anna Nicole Smith hadn't married J. Howard Marshall, a billionaire 63 years older than she was, the cable news networks might have actually had to cover the Iraq War today. Instead, we were treated to a spectacle so ludicrous you had to laugh out loud, and then shake your head, embarrassed that you were finding humor in a woman's death.
In Logical Land, there should never have been a doubt about where Anna Nicole should be buried. Sure, at 39, she was probably not thinking about her final resting place, but once her 20-year-old son Daniel died shockingly early, and she (or her companion, Howard K. Stern, or her entourage, or whoever) decided to bury him in the Bahamas, that should have been the end of it. Naturally, a mother, especially one who, according to Stern, rarely left her room and was certainly never the same after her son's death, would want to be buried next to her child. CONTINUED >>
