Notes on Pop Culture: More Betty White Adoration, Carell & Rudd Mock Lebron, Bristol & Levi Again?

Another Reason to Love Betty White
Add to the many reasons why Ms White is deserving of affection include the answers to this Vanity Fair questionnaire:

Vanity Fair: What is the quality you most like in a man?

Betty White: Sense of romance.

VF: What is the quality you most like in a woman?

White: Sense of humor.

VF: What is your most treasured possession?

White: My golden retriever.

VF: What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

White: Big parties.

Carell & Rudd Mock Lebron's 'Decision'

I didn’t watch the ESPN Awards (even though I am a fan of Seth Meyers, who hosted the show) but I got a kick out of watching the video of Steve Carell and Paul Rudd lampooning Lebron James’ big “The Decision” ridiculousness.



Bristol and Levi: Tying the Knot?

“I’m here now and I’m gonna make it right,” Levi Johnston, who last year lampooned the Palin family, said of being with his ex-girlfriend and their son.

After last year’s tabloidesque insanity involving the Palin family and self-made rogue Levi Johnston – including Johnston posing with a photo cut-out/mask of Sarah Palin and dishing on all things intimate about his kid’s grandmother in Vanity Fair -- Levi “Playgirl” Johnston is now going to marry Bristol Palin?

Apparently so. And, to make this story even more unbelievable, the two lovebirds told Us Weekly before telling Sarah Palin.

In a statement, Bristol’s parents, Sarah and Todd Palin said: “"We obviously want what is best for our children, but Bristol is ultimately in charge of determining what is best for her and her beautiful son. Bristol believes in redemption and forgiveness to a degree most of us struggle to put in practice."

The elegantly snarky New York Times columnist Gail Collins said this news brings together all types of people to rally ‘round Sarah Palin:

“Johnston has proven to be the only person in the world who can make me feel sympathy for Sarah Palin. He told Us Weekly that he broached the subject of marrying Bristol at the same family meeting where he apologized to Sarah for telling the national news media that she was money-hungry, insensitive, a bad housekeeper, an indifferent mother and a bad shot.”

Image credits: Vanity Fair and Us Weekly.

What Will the Gosselins Do With Their Free Time Now that ‘Jon and Kate Plus 8’ Has Suspended Filming?

The New York Post reported this week that, in the wake of Jon Gosselin’s demand that his kids no longer be featured in a TLC reality show (the one that made the Gosselin's a household name), it's entirely likely that we've seen the last original episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8. "This is the last episode for which we have completed filming," a TLC spokeswoman told the Post. "We remain suspended."

The Post reporter read between the lines and offered this: "It's believed that, behind the scenes, neither the network nor Kate are pushing Jon to rescind his ban on filming the kids."

That leaves the separating/divorcing Gosselins with some extra times on their hands. What should they do with that time?

While one of Jon’s girlfriends, 22-year-old Hailey Glassman, has told The Insider that Jon already spends a good bit of his time having “mantrums” (man tantrums), taking his temper out on her and lying (“Sometimes he has trouble with the truth and he will dance and dance around his lies,” Glassman said), it’s being rumored that Jon will go out on a date with the Octomom as part of a reality show. (And if they brought all their kids along on the date, they'd have the equivalent of the population of Rhode Island in tow.)

Meanwhile, Kate has told the media that she doesn’t think anyone would want to marry into her situation and is contemplating returning to her nursing career. (Wonder how her bedside manner would compare to Edie Falco's Nurse Jackie?)

In case Jon and Kate are looking for something to help them to fill their days, which were once spent in front of TLC cameras and promoting the show and their "happy" family, I've got some suggestions for them:

Jon could try to improve his reputation as a devoted father of eight young children by writing a book about how challenging it is to be a divorced father while in the glare of media spotlight (at the same time he's courting said spotlight . . . but he doesn't need to mention that.). When he’s done, he can have his publicist arrange to hold his book launch party poolside at a Las Vegas hotel next to svelte bikinied women, seeing as though “hosting” a party at a similar locale earlier this year did so much to boost his loving daddy image.

Or Jon could take a page from the father of Sarah Palin's grandson and give a tell-all, scathing interview about his soon-to-be ex-wife to Vanity Fair, pose for photos while holding a photo of Kate’s head on a stick with the eyes cut out (as Levi Johnston did with a photo of Palin),  then offer to pose naked for Playgirl, continue to give interviews where you taunt the person who you now loathe (in Jon’s case it would be Kate who he’s already trashed on ABC by saying he “despises” her) and say that you’ve got “huge” stories about that person that you've yet to reveal, as Johnston did on CBS' Early Show this week.

Given that Kate has told the media that she feels comfortable in front of the camera, maybe she could consider becoming a third co-host of the 47th hour of the Today Show, accompanying Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. Kate and Kathie Lee can take turns rolling their eyes, cracking wise and making exaggerated arm motions as they discuss the news of the day.

Do you have any suggestions as to the next career moves for Jon and Kate?

Image credit: TLC via the Examiner.

Column in Which I Tell Jon Gosselin and Levi Johnston to "Man Up and Shut Up"

I went a little nutty this week in my Pop Culture & Politics column over on Mommy Track'd.

You see, I was more than a tad annoyed, by Levi Johnston, who dumped all over his kid's family in the October issue of Vanity Fair, and by Jon Gosselin, who has whined to ABC News' Primetime, telling the world that he "despises" the mother of his eight children and that he lost his 20s to childrearing. Cry me a river Jon. None of the pregnancies were accidents. I used to be sympathetic to you, dude. No more.



And as for Levi, the 19-year-old tattletale, what a portrait of class and chivalry, dumping all over his son's grandparents to a national magazine, dishing dirt about Sarah and Todd Palin's sex life and complaining about THEIR parenting, or lack thereof. Yeah you're gonna be a great specimen of parental excellence Levi.

Mad Men Season 2 DVDs & Killer Vanity Fair Photos

I've spent the past couple of days marinating in Mad Men's second season DVDs in preparation for a column I've been working on. And, I must say, as a Mad Men fan, I found the DVD extras to be insightful. There are a bunch of audio commentaries on the disks which not only illuminated characters and plotlines, but also confirmed some of Mad Men fans' suspicions about why show-runner Matt Weiner had certain things happen.

For example, Jon "I'm Don Draper" Hamm said that the one of the main themes of the AMC show's sophomore season was about the evolution of the female characters, about "these women finding their place and finding their power." While commenting on the season two premiere, Weiner said that Betty Draper (January Jones) was trying to figure out the value -- in hard currency -- of her housewifedom and determine whether being a married, at-home mother was a form of prostitution. "I love this idea," Weiner said, "'What are we worth?'"

On the audio commentary for the episode "The New Girl," (otherwise known as the one where Don gets into a drunk driving accident while the Odious Bobbie Barrett's in the car, and Peggy bails them out of jail), it was fascinating to hear actress Melinda McGraw, who played Barrett, express her shock at how much "people hated Bobbie Barrett." She speculated on why there was a double-standard for Bobbie's cheating versus Don's, calling her character a female version of Don the debonair.

The disks also included a two-part documentary about the evolution of the feminist movement, using the women of Mad Men as a jumping off point, putting the show into historical context. (If Weiner sets season three in 1963 -- he hasn't yet divulged the year -- this Newsweek piece provides some details on what historical events transpired in 1963 that could be woven into the Mad Men narrative.)

Meanwhile, the media (myself included) are working themselves up into a frenzy leading up to the August 16 season three premiere:

-- Vanity Fair just released a long article about Mad Men and included some killer Annie Leibovitz photos of Hamm and Jones that should sell a lot of copies of that magazine. Smokin'.

-- New York Magazine had a three-article package about the show, including a shout-out for the snake-like Pete Campbell and a guide to the show's first two seasons.

-- And after seeing the slate of Mad Men events slated to occur in New York City in the next week, I'm kinda wishing I lived in NYC to attend them.

Image credit: Annie Leibovitz via Vanity Fair.

Suburban Mom's Political Fix: Palin Stuns, Resigns

If any American governor were to announce a resignation the day before Independence Day, I would've bet you a bundle that it would've been South Carolina's head honcho who would've quit so he could spend more time in Argentina snogging with his gal pal.

I certainly didn't expect, in the 3 o'clock hour on the Friday before a holiday weekend when many people were already on vacation, to learn that Sarah Palin was quitting her gubernatorial post.

After watching the nationally televised speech made in her backyard -- intermittently disrupted by the sounds of a baby and various birds chirping in the background -- here's what I gathered: Palin's angry that she's been the subject of 15+ ethics investigations in Alaska that she said have cost the state in excess of $2 million and have cost her and her husband Todd personally $500,000 in legal fees to fight. (She pointed out that the charges were all dropped.)

"It's pretty insane," Palin said. "My staff and I spend most of our day dealing with this stuff."

Saying that she wanted to spare Alaskans the money and the distractions caused by the multitude of negative attacks aimed at her, Palin said she was removing herself from the ring. "I chose not to tear down and waste precious time," she said. ". . . Life is too short to compromise time and resources."

Palin also mentioned the emotional cost borne by her family -- she specifically mentioned folks recently "mocked and ridiculed" her baby Trig -- as yet another reason to resign and not spend time on "superficial, wasteful political blood sport."

"It hurts to make this choice," Palin added. It did not appear as though there were any members of the media present during her speech to pose questions.

When her speech ended, cable talking heads and political pundits were slack-jawed. Many called her decision "erratic," stunningly short-sighted and "political suicide" to appear to knuckle under to the pressure. Others said it was the first chess move for the 2012 presidential race that would enable her to concentrate on building political support "in the lower 48 states." Over on MSNBC, they've been quoting NBC vet Andrea Mitchell as saying that Palin is "out of politics for good."

Palin's Twitter account said, "We'll soon attach info on decision to not seek re-election . . . this is in Alaska's best interest, my family's happy . . . it is good. Stay tuned." I heard Palin's brother and spokeswoman on various TV interviews and neither would say exactly what Palin's plans are once she leaves the governor's office.

Palin has been in the news as of late following her highly publicized feud with David Letterman where she defended her daughters against some of his crude jokes, as well as for being the subject of a harsh Vanity Fair piece snarkily entitled, "It Came From Wasilla."

I'm stunned and will be interested and intrigued to see what comes next.

Image credit: The Drudge Report.

Suburban Mom's Pop Culture Week: Tommy Gavin, Jason Bourne, Harry Potter, Michael Jackson, Sarah Palin & Red Sox

When I haven't been catching up on the latest news stories about Michael Jackson, the unfaithful South Carolina governor who doesn't know when to shut up, U.S. troops leaving Iraq and about Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell being put on the DL (!), I've been coping with sick kids and have been sick myself . . . but that hasn't stopped me from consuming pop culture and watching Sox games. Here's what I've been up to pop culture-wise this week:

TV:

-- Sox, Sox and more Sox. Mercifully, I didn't watch the entire game when the Sox blew a massive lead -- and "imploded" according to Jonathan Papelbon -- against the Orioles. Silly gal that I was, I thought they were going to win because they were up by so much, so I tuned in to other things, like Rescue Me.

-- I said this last week and I'll say it again this week: Rescue Me has been great this season and has drawn viewers into dark, twisty, unpredictable places. This season warrants a full blog post on its own, particularly given the blow torch scene. Damn!

-- Nurse Jackie: Jackie Peyton's kid is creating drawings sans colors, with no sun in the sky? Sounds like the recent weather around New England. Kidding aside, this dark show has me hook, line and obligatory sinker.

Movies:

-- Adored the Bourne Ultimatum which The Spouse and I saw on DVD. It sparked a heated discussion about who would take who in a fight: Jason Bourne or Jack Bauer. (I say Bourne. Bauer would be too busy yelling, "Dammit!" and trying to get patched in to Chloe on the phone.) While Ultimatum's handheld camerawork made me feel a bit nauseous at times (or it could've been the flu from which I was recovering), I was otherwise highly entertained.

-- What didn't I find so entertaining this week? Planning on watching the cerebral Frost/Nixon film by Ron Howard, only to find that I'd instead ordered from Netflix the ACTUAL Frost-Nixon interviews from the 1970s. At 10 p.m. on a Saturday, I could've stayed up to watch Ron Howard's hyped up dramatic version of the interviews, but I feared the real ones would've put me to sleep. It lies, still unwatched, next to the DVD player.

-- In preparation for a column in which I compare my kids' fascination with all things Harry Potter to my generation's fascination with all things Star Wars, I OD'ed on Potter films, specifically The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Order of the Phoenix. I still tear up at the end of Phoenix.

-- In preparation for a different column for a different publication, I'm planning on going to the theater to see the Sam Mendes film starring The Office's John Krasinski called Away We Go. It's been a tad challenging to find it playing at a theater near me, seeing as though it doesn't have a massive, nationwide distribution. I can't decide whether to keep my expectations low or not, given that I really did NOT like the last Mendes film, Revolutionary Road.

Books:

-- I'm continuing to re-read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as we're now at T-minus two+ weeks and counting before the film version is released.

Magazines/Newspapers:

-- I've not yet read the Vanity Fair profile of Sarah Palin -- "It Came From Wasilla" -- but from what I've read on the internet, it sounds like it may well be a polarizing piece about a woman who's controversial herself. It's on my "must read" list.

-- I read a thought-provoking column in the New York Times over the weekend which mused about whether Michael Jackson is truly the last, worldwide mega-star who spans the generations. His music, the article suggests, was popular in the pre-internet days/pre-iTunes/pre-fractured pop culture world, when everyone watched MTV when it still played music videos. I tried to think of another cultural figure who is vastly popular with a wide swath of people, whose accomplishments affect people of varying backgrounds and nationalities, and who would cause people to spontaneously gather to celebrate and the only name that popped into my mind was Oprah. Do you think Times writer David Segal is right when he speculates that there will be no more mega-, multi-generational celebrities like Jackson?

Image credit: Vanity Fair/Risko.

The Many Sides of Tina Fey

Quick, think about Tina Fey.

What comes to mind? Her trademark specs? Her humor? 30 Rock? SNL? Her sexy librarian image? Her wit? Her Sarah Palin impersonation?

The divine Tina Fey is one of those women whose images depends on who's doing the looking. To me, she's a witty and smart woman who's unafraid to showcase those traits first and foremost, dramatized by the fact that she wears glasses and not contact lens most of the time. To someone else, the mention of her name might remind him of comedy, or of his librarian fantasies he hasn't shared with anyone, save his therapist.

And when Tina Fey (it seems wrong to refer to her by just her last name) appears in pop culture confections all dolled up and vampy, her overt sexiness messes with some people's impression of her. "Wait a sec, she's the smart, sassy one, right?" some folks might think. "Why the hell is she doing cleavage shots like Pamela Anderson?"

Which brings us to Tina Fey in the January issue of Vanity Fair, where, alongside a lengthy feature story by Maureen Dowd, are many sexy photographs. Salon's Broadsheet blog reacted to the images with a post entitled, "The sexing up of Tina Fey," in which blogger Sarah Hepola wrote:

". . . [D]espite her disdain for hedonism, she has gone from a 'mousy,' 'goofy-looking' comedy writer who never seemed to put much of a premium on her looks into television's most unexpected bombshell. (Pictures accompanying the article show Fey in five-alarm sexy librarian mode, seductively biting the frame of her glasses and wearing red stilettos.) Fey seems conflicted about her sexuality in a way that might feel familiar to any woman who has found herself choosing between muumuus and fishnets.

. . . Maybe you find this depressing (a brilliant comic mind inevitably reduced to shaking her cleavage). Maybe you find this empowering (a brilliant comic mind finally shaking her cleavage!). Either way, it only confirms what many of us have known for a long time: Tina Fey is one of the most fascinating celebrities out there right now."

The Vanity Fair story does a good job of detailing how Tina Fey is simultaneously nerdy and shy, as well as funny and sexy. I happen to love it that Tina Fey embodies the fact that women have many different, sometimes contradictory sides. She can be witty AND smart AND sexy AND classy AND silly. This reminded me of the fake ad pitch on Mad Men earlier this season when the advertising gurus were trying to land a Playtex account. Their proposed campaign (see art above) suggested that there were two sides of a woman: a siren like Marilyn Monroe or a dutiful wife like Jackie Kennedy, as if those were the only choices.

When it comes to Emmy winning actress/writer/working mother Tina Fey, you see many different sides in the same person. And that's all right with me.

Image credits: AMC and Vanity Fair.