The Cut: Politics, Culture, and Travel

Lady Gaga: "Telephone" Brings Jails, Sandwichs, and Tarantino

2010-03-12T06:43:00.003-05:00

After watching Lady Gaga's video for "Bad Romance" about a hundred times, I became convinced it was the best music video ever! Or at least the most fashionably outrageous video ever. That's why I was hard to believe that she could continue topping it for her later videos.

While I'm not convinced it's better than "Bad Romance," the world premiere of the video for "Telephone" is certainly more fun. A basic summary of the video would that Lady Gaga is in jail after killing her boyfriend in the "Paparazzi" video. She spends some time singing, but Beyonce bails her out and together they go on a murderous, Tarantino-inspired rampage. I give her props for using Quentin Tarantino's infamous prop from Kill Bill Vol. 1, and it's my opinion that the music video is better in its second half, after Gaga is released from jail. Watch it and read what Gaga has to say about it after the jump >>

More Gaga news: Confirmed next single is "Alejandro."
Even MORE Gaga news: Check out the poster for the "Telephone" video! It's wonderfully vintage.

Gaga told E! News, "There was this really amazing quality in 'Paparazzi,' where it kind of had this pure pop music quality but at the same time it was a commentary on fame culture. In its own way, even at certain points working with Jonas [Åkerlund, the director of both videos] really achieved this high art quality in the way that it was shot. I wanted to do the same thing with this video—take a decidedly pop song, which on the surface has a quite shallow meaning, and turn it into something deeper."

Sunday Shows: Fareed Zakaria GPS

2010-03-07T10:15:00.002-05:00

image from google

I'll admit it- I'm tired of healthcare debates. This morning I decided to watch the only show not featuring congressmen rallying against (or for) the healthcare bill. So, instead of watching Kathleen Sebelius I tuned in for an interview of General David Petraeus, Commander US Central Command, with Fareed Zakaria.

My own father is a Petraeus fan so I decided that it'd be beneficial for me to at least understand what made him so "great." I have to say that Petraeus has had an excellent career; graduating at the top of his class at West Point he went on to earn a doctorate in international relations at the Woodrow Wilson School. He's served around the world in a variety of support and command positions. Most recently, as the commander of multinational forces in Iraq, Petraeus became a front-man for the Obama administration's terror policy. While I was not completely taken in by Petraeus's arguments I must agree that he is relatively articulate, aware, and politically savvy. I'm weary of his demonstrated support for the surge and continued US presence in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now there has been a lot of speculation within the beltway and across the country that General Petraeus might attempt a 2012 presidential run. He has claimed numerous times that he has no political ambitions. However, would I be surprised to see him form an exploratory committee? Absolutely not. In fact, he does have a vaguely presidential voice. His interview gave you a sense that he understood the nuances of current events, politics, and his area of operations but left many of his answers intentionally vague. With coaching I think he could become a strong and potentially competitive Republican primary challenge.

Sunday Shows: This Week

2010-02-28T19:09:00.002-05:00

ABC News

Okay. I'm sick of "bipartisanship." Completely done with it. Every politician seems to think its a magical buzz-word that will negate any suspicions of political maneuvering or Congressional roadblocks. In my opinion, partisanship is exactly what the founders wanted. A democracy has, without fail, a majority and a minority. They are supposed to act independently, and, at times, together. The Democratic party maintains control of the White House and Congress for the first time in years. Why aren't they taking advantage of it? I thought the Obama election was supposed to represent a mandate. I think it's time that mandate was seized firmly.

Today as I watched "This Week" and saw Elizabeth Vargas's interview with Speaker Pelosi I couldn't help but shuffle to the edge of my seat--just waiting for her to say "We're going to get them passed with or without them." It's time for them to stop being conciliatory. The President and the Speaker (AND FOR THAT MATTER THE MAJORITY LEADER) need to wrestle some arms. Yes mid-terms are coming but healthcare reform has been on the Democratic platform for decades. The conditions are finally here to do something about it and all I see is internal party politics. A strong leader of the Democratic party needs to emerge. He or she needs to demand results and show the public that something can be done within Washington's gridlock. I'm tired of seeing my party flounder in national tracking polls and continue to accept absurd Republican amendments. We have a majority. If a Democrat is too cowardly to vote "yay" then restrict his or her DCCC funding. Cut them off. It's time to see who lives up to the name "Democrat" and who is simply masquerading. If anything, today's Sunday shows made me furious that nothing had been done since this entire healthcare debacle emerged months ago. Only just now releasing an online copy of his "new" proposal puts President Obama months off pace. I'm incredibly worried that with all the in-fighting the Senate seems plagued with absolutely nothing will get done before this summer. The message here: Get yourself together and lead. Now.

Link of the Day: The Best Duplex Ever

2010-02-22T22:04:00.002-05:00

google images

As a personal addict of NYTimes slideshows I have to admit that I am not a fan of their new layouts. Adding repetitive full-screen ads for Sotheby's, the Times forces you to click the aggravating "skip this ad" button to progress. Just my two cents.

However, on a more pressing matter, I wanted to point out a particularly interesting slideshow concerning a contemporary Toronto duplex. Complete with a terrace, Juliet balconies, high industrial ceilings, and a strikingly modern kitchen, the property is priced above one-million dollars yet I already want it for myself. Having visited Toronto this past summer, I can vouch for the incredible construction projects springing up across the city. I have to admit that this is one of the finest I've seen so far. If you like this slideshow I'd suggest looking at others on the "Great Homes and Destinations" page, including a milk depot remodel in London.

Sunday Morning (Literally)

2010-02-21T14:49:00.004-05:00

google images

So once again I'm back to the Sunday Morning Shows Review. Instead of featuring a political talk show I decided to hone in on another venerable morning address, the news documentary show with an apt title "Sunday Morning."

I'll be honest; usually I ignore "Sunday Morning" entirely. My dad's watched the show every week since the nineties. Rather than an entertaining show, it's become more of an awkward household nick-nack. From Charles Osgood to the other reporters whose faces I've tried desperately to forget, they all seemed to signal that it was time for me to go read, do homework, do anything at all really.

Here's my point: I was reminded today that "Sunday Morning" has SOME redeeming qualities. Towards the end of the program today I watched a segment where astronauts spun an inflatable globe in the International Space Station and, without looking, pointed out a spot that they wanted the producers to research, all in an effort to achieve a greater sense of global understanding. It was truly interesting to watch a reporter go to India, Latvia, and even Oman in an effort to interview just one person. Randomly selecting names out of phone books, the reporter found an elderly blind man in India living with 13 family members who all share the same bank account, a Latvian body builder who achieved great success in his sport after suffering hepatitis at a young age, an Omani man who earned a fortune in the oil business after growing up in a small mud apartment. I thought the program was simple yet inspiring, a human interest story with international flair that boiled life down to the basics-- that the lifestyles of these individuals were all relatively similar and that, like the view of the Earth from space, they were all indistinguishable from their brethren. (by the way this last part was the sign-off and not my own musings).

I tried to find a link to this segment but alas it's not posted. If you're interested in "Sunday Morning" I'd refer you to their website, here.

Link of the Day: Barbie is Officially a Nerd (Sorta)!

2010-02-13T21:59:00.001-05:00

After half a million Barbie fans voted, her new career will be that of a computer programmer. This marks a long way from 1992, when she was programmed to say "Math class is tough." While Barbie will keep her inhuman body, she adds a binary code t-shirt, a laptop, and a Bluetooth headset to her outfit. While this may mark improvement in a field where female participation has been dwindling, Caroline McCarthy at CNET writes, "being a woman in technology is about more than picking out a pair of cute pink glasses to match your iPhone case." [Bits]

GRAND OPENING: The Cut's Style Blog

2010-02-13T17:44:00.000-05:00

Aware of the increasing irrelevance of my fashion posts to the rest of this politically-focused blog, I had decided to create a new blog for my fashion ramblings. Don't worry, it will be über-professional; so professional, in fact, that I'll have to stop using the word über.

Avatar is China's Bad Wake-Up Call

2010-02-13T13:02:00.001-05:00

Avatar, director James Cameron's fantastical 3-D epic, has done amazingly well in the international box office, earning about $2.21 billion. And it will probably have done equally well in the Chinese box office as well, if Chinese officials had not yanked the 2-D version from theaters. While China claims it was, as Asia Times Online reported, "drawing audiences away from the officially approved film Confucius," Western audiences are claiming that it is due to a striking metaphor to the government land-grabs in China. Since a law passed in 1991 China has been able to take property away from people, causing riots and cries of protest. Avatar, since it is a movie, ends happily, but can it end happily for Chinese citizens? Yes, apparently, since their protests of the movie being ripped from screens was heard and Avatar is back in theaters.

Palin and Tea Parties

2010-02-12T13:10:00.006-05:00

Google images

The headlines “Tea Party Draws Hundreds to Participate” or “Patriots Defy Government” don’t necessarily seem to fit with our modern age. Indeed, some would even deem such publications anachronistic by nature. However, they actually describe events from the last year rather than the famous act of protest that took place in Boston more than 200 years ago. Today’s modern-day “Tea Partiers” are members of a far-right grassroots organization dedicated to a purer American republic, a return to the principles of democracy as set forth by the founding fathers. The popular organization Tea Party Patriots describes their own mission statement as: “The impetus for the Tea Party movement is excessive government spending and taxation. Our mission is to attract, educate, organize, and mobilize our fellow citizens to secure public policy with our three core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government, and Free Markets.” Drawing thousands of members to regional organizations across the country, the Tea Party movement has gained traction over the last year in response to President Obama’s deficit spending and costly legislative agendas including TARP and healthcare reform. As the Tea Party movement’s leadership as well as a band of loyal followers gathered in Nashville, Tennessee beginning February 5th for a national conference, this once small band of conservatives staging ironic protests has now become a political force in terms of fundraising, mobilization, and volunteer organization.
Announcing at the beginning of their conference the formation of a political action committee (PAC) labeled “Ensuring Liberty,” Tea Party organizers are preparing themselves for a massive fundraising drive with campaign management potential in support of approved candidates across the United States. Tea Party spokesman Mark Skoda remarked in the New York Times with regard to his organization’s expansion into the financial arena of American politics, “Let us not be naïve here. The notion of holding up signs does not get people elected.” Given such a vehement statement, it is easy to see how some pundits have characterized the apparent rise to power of the Tea Party movement as potentially beginning a new age in American politics marked by a powerful third-party. While such ideas remain, for the most part, speculation and are even denied by organizers, the radical swing of the Republican Party to the far-right is clear. Take for instance the primary loss of New York assemblywoman, Dede Scozzafava, who, though a self-proclaimed Republican was attacked by a third-party Conservative candidate who split the republican vote. Along with Tea Party radicals and even the rise of Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin to prominence, the Republican Party does seem to be establishing a new political base in the far-far-right.
Actually, the intersection of Tea Party supporters and so-called “Palin-Republicans” is closer than you might think. Palin, who was amassed an impressive number of speaking engagements since her loss to President Obama in November 2008, spoke at the Nashville organizing conference February 6th—reportedly a main factor in the over $500 admission fees to the conference. Now directly influencing 1.3 million Facebook fans on a daily basis as well as endorsing Republican candidates across the United States and writing the occasional newspaper column, Palin is positioning herself for an unknown but assuredly successful future. Recently contracted as an analyst for Fox News, Palin is fueled by daily briefings from an experienced political staff that has remained with her following the 2008 Presidential campaign. The New York Times writes of Palin’s popularity that, “Ms. Palin represents a new breed of unelected public figures operating in an environment in which politics, news media, and celebrity are fused as never before.”
The question then remains whether or not the Tea Party movement and the ascension of Sarah Palin to a yet-to-be-defined role in conservative politics illustrates a broader trend among the American people. Are Americans simply more “Republican” then they were in 2008? Did the election of Republican Scott Brown to the late Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat represent a referendum on President Obama’s healthcare program? Personally, I feel that they demonstrate two separate things: a growing pragmatism across the country and the failure of Democrats to effectively market their agendas.
Facing unemployment hovering around ten percent and a growing distrust of Wall Street investors, I believe most Americans are retreating to what is seemingly a fiscally-minded party without taking the time to research the actual policy positions espoused by the candidates. Granted, some will always believe in the theory of tax cuts after tax cuts to stimulate the economy. However, an overwhelming fraction of economists agree that the deficit spending President Obama pushed through Congress to combat this recession is exactly what an economy as large as ours requires, in fact, Nobel Prize-winning economist and professor Paul Krugman has even declared that he believes TARP to have been too limited. The American populace forgets that Reaganomics has not led this country to prominence on the world stage. In fact, the most economically stable period in recent history was under the Clinton administration. The presidency of George W. Bush alone can serve as a glaring indicator that Republican administrations that pledge to cut costs and give money back to “the people” are in fact successful.
Secondly, it appears that Democrats across the board are failing to instill in Americans the reasons their agendas are necessary. They have not connected on a personal level to the electorate in order to persuade them of the absolute necessity of universal healthcare. Gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia were unable to sell economic efforts on the part of national democrats to revive a sluggish job outlook. However, I still do not believe that all is lost for the Democratic Party. Is it incredibly important that Democratic agendas succeed, at least partially, before the 2012 Midterm elections? Yes. Is there time for at least a moderate recovery? Yes. In my opinion at least the country has a lot more too lose in the face of rising conservative banter from Ms. Palin and the Tea Partiers than from the current Democratic administration. Limiting the rights of women, eliminating the power of the federal government, and ignoring the division of church and state Sarah Palin could be a much wore President than Obama anyday.

Sunday Shows: Fareed Zakaria

2010-02-12T12:32:00.006-05:00

I admit that this post is untimely and seemingly outdated. However, snow days gave me a chance to catch up on my blogging and, well, here it is. Last Sunday I decided to avoid the main networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) and seek out another talk show. The result: Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN.

I actually picked a great day to tune in. Instead of a normal round-table discussion, Zakaria spent his time block interviewing Jordanian King Abdullah II. At first I was shocked that the man on camera was actually Jordanian. In fact, His Majesty spoke absolutely clean idiomatic English and was dressed in a perfectly stylish western suit. Proceeding as any teenager would, to Wikipedia, I set out to learn all I could about King Abdullah, eventually gleaning that he was educated at Deerfield, an expensive New England prep school, and has led his country well for the past ten years. Under his leadership Jordan's economy has become much more robust and his people much more educated. Currently, despite some pushes for democratic elections, it seems that Jordan will remain a constitutional monarchy for the foreseeable future.

Okay, back to the show. In what could best be described as a candid discussion, Zakaria was able to engage King Abdullah on a myriad of topics most notably the Middle East Peace Process. Abdullah, a long-time supporter of the peace process, expressed an interesting viewpoint that a real compromise between the Israelis and the Palestinians could lead to less violence worldwide. In fact, he went as far as to note that the peace process is in the direct national security interests of the United States-- after all, without being intrinsically tied to "Zionist" Israel there is a possibility that the United States could gradually withdraw from its interventions in the Mid East. By helping to establish a homeland simultaneously for the Palestinians, the United States government could help the very people who are actively subverting US interests abroad. Additionally, Abdullah appeared optimistic on the prospects of Christian-Islamic understanding and a greater sense of dialogue between moderate Islamic regimes and the West.

My personal opinions of King Abdullah was incredibly positive. I am thankful that such an educated and aware individual is leading one of the only moderate states in the Middle East. I agree with him completely on the necessity of a real peace between Israeli and Palestinian interests and hope that the United States recognizes the wisdom of his words. As for Zakaria, I couldn't have asked for a better interviewer. He facilitated an revealing discussion and remained forceful when asking controversial questions, such as the whether the line of succession would continue with his son. I am definitely tuning in next week.

*On a side note: CNN's bottom scrolling bar is one of my favorite aspects of the show. It mentioned interesting facts about King Abdullah. For instance, did you know he's a trained frogman?*

Trying to Understand My Feelings Toward Joanna Newsom

2010-02-11T13:43:00.000-05:00

Joanna Newsom is adorable. This is clear. After all, she has a twee voice and plays the harp. And, appropriately, her music is just as adorable. And yet, I can't help feeling slightly repelled by the bizarre music she creates. Like some kitschy mix of harpsichords and harps with a childlike wharbled voice, it's not difficult to understand how her music doesn't appeal to some people. It's much for difficult for me to understand why I like her music.
Maybe it's because her music is simultaneously happy and sad, reminding me both of a sunny day and a lonely walk. Clearly she's doing something right if my words describing her end up coming out like a poem written by a ~depressed~ preteen.
Listen to her new songs and think about the mystery of Joanna Newsom for yourself.

Joanna Newsom- Kingfisher @ hypem.com
Joanna Newsom- '81 @ hypem.com

photo via last.fm

Recap: LOST Doesn't Want You to Get Infected

2010-02-10T20:55:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, the inactivity of my partner and I on this blog mean that there will be two LOST posts in a row. But, is that really so wrong. Can you believe that, maybe, like Kate said she was innocent, that we are innocent of being obsessed with LOST?

Claire packs adorable bags. Just saying. Photo courtesy ABC.

So, this week's episode, "What Kate Does," ~~featured way too much Kate~~ gave us an interesting look into Kate's psyche. I've passed over most of the emotional development in this episode, because while the scenes with Sawyer and Kate on the wharf were pretty and made me sorta want to cry (for Juliet, mind you. NOT Kate.), they weren't really plot-moving.

What We Learned:

Sayid is alive! It doesn't really matter to me, because I've always been between the indifferent-loathing feeling on Sayid in the show's entire duration.
Not only is Sayid alive, which is shocking enough, but he's also "infected." We don't really find out anything about the infection except that: a) it's not cureable (since Confucius tried to give Sayid poison, not a cure); b) it "takes away everything a person was;" c) it is probably Man in Black-spread (hence the test with the ash); and d) Claire has it.
Okay, can we address this Claire thing? SHE'S ALIVE? Okay, I knew she was coming back. But she looks insane in the membrane. In a legit, Danielle Rousseau way, though. And she's clearly still aware of her former friends, because she saves Jin instead of killing him like the Others. Was this because of all the cabin fever from season 4? Hmmm..

What We Still Don't Know:

Will Sawyer ever get over Juliet?
Will Kate ever return to Claire?
Will the Man in Black/Smoke Monster breach the temple?
Will ANYONE explain how the temple civilization got there?
What happened to Claire?
What will happen to Ben? (yes, I know you forgot about him. But he's always there. Lurking.)
What is the significance of the flash-sideways (as they are called)?

Oh, LOST. Even in your final season you seem to skate by without actually telling us anything.

Link of the Day: Essential LOST Episodes

2010-02-02T18:24:00.002-05:00

So, any good LOST fan has been patiently waiting six months for the return of the best show ever. And that return is tonight! I've been warily traveling the internet, careful of spoilers. I've only been technically spoiled once, and it was by something I already knew! Okay, Entertainment Weekly put together this list of the essential episodes of LOST to watch. Check it out here. It was a fun flashback: I remembered the chills I got from seeing the Orientation video, the WTF-ness of Jacob, and, of course, the mind-boggling THING that was last year's finale. And one last thing: EW's Pop Watch blog says that the following scene is a must-re-see before the premiere tonight. So get on watching, and happy LOST day!

Sunday Shows: "This Week"

2010-01-31T14:04:00.006-05:00

image: Paul Krugman, Nobel-winning economist, professor and columnist for the New York Times, credit from Newsweek

I realize I never posted last weekend-- midterms ate up too much time. However, I'm back and ready to continue this column. Today I focused on Barbara Walter's version of This Week. Framed largely by an interview with newly elected Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown (the replacement for the late Senator Ted Kennedy). Oddly enough, Senator Brown, who will officially join the Senate next week, seemed rather personable. Adept at non-answers but not so distanced as to appear arrogant, Brown had a successful interview with Walters-- even able to poke fun at himself for his infamous Cosmopolitan photo shoot in the '80's. I was disappointed, however, that Brown gave no clear stance on the possible repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell' while also failing to address the success of Massachusetts's own healthcare policy among his constituents.

What I was must intrigued by during this show was the round table which followed the featured exclusive. Columnists Paul Krugman and Arianna Huffington admonished Fox Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes for Fox News' admittedly biased coverage and contribution to the massive healthcare misinformation campaign of the last 6 months. Krugman and Huffington also pointed out the ridiculous nature of President Obama's proposed spending freeze. In all actuality, the freeze could only affect, at most, one-sixth of the federal budget. Failing also to take the massive steps necessary to fix the 'jobs crisis', President Obama is not fighting hard enough for what he believes our country needs: better financial regulations, more jobs, and healthcare. Huffington made an excellent point when she noted that if President Obama really wants to succeed and make substantial progress, he should return to his own campaign speeches. Last week's State of the Union address did reveal his oratorical skill and reminded the nation of why he was elected in the first place. However, in the political battles to come he will need to spend all of his political capital and exhaust all of the enthusiasm he can muster to remind Americans why they voted Democratic. If for no other reason that Krugman's ingenious remark that what we are really electing these days are parties, not individuals, the Democrats had better pull it together before the Mid-Terms.

Tiger's Wife Now A Super Spy!

2010-01-26T20:27:00.003-05:00

While it WOULD be pretty awesome to see Tiger's gorgeous blonde kinda ex-wife Elin Nordegren kicking butt as the herione James Bond movies never have, the title is actually referring to her sneakiness in discovering her husband's trysts. THAT'S RIGHT, GUYS. We now know what went down on Thanksgiving, when Tiger's mysterious car crash caused the story to go out into the open. Apparently, Tiger had caught wind of The National Inquirer's soon-to-be-posted article revealing Tiger's first mistress Rachel Uchitel. Tiger told Elin that he and Rachel were just acquaintances. Rachel and Elin even spoke over the phone, appeasing Elin.

But, later that night, as Tiger was deep in the medicated sleep that only an Ambien could provide, Elin stole his cell phone and texted Uchitel, pretending to be Tiger. Devious. The Daily Beast reports:

There she found text messages to Uchitel’s number—Uchitel was apparently listed in Tiger’s cellphone under her real name — and among them she discovered one that said, “You are the only one I’ve loved.” Shortly after 1 a.m. in Florida, Elin began texting Uchitel, pretending to be Tiger, according to both sources. Elin wrote, “I miss you,” and asked, “When are we seeing each other again?” Uchitel texted back, seemingly surprised that Woods was awake. Elin specifically felt, one source told me, that this response indicated that the two of them spoke earlier that night, before Tiger took his Ambien. At that point, Elin called Uchitel, who answered thinking it was Tiger calling. Both sources said that Elin said something approximating, “I knew it was you.” Uchitel’s surprised reply, according to what Elin told one source: “Oh f--k.” She immediately hung up.

In anger, Elin woke up Tiger who, still in his Ambien-seeped stupor, texted Uchitel to tell her that Elin knew the truth and that "divorce was imminent." This text was again discovered by the wily Elin, at which point she completely freaked out on him and went after him with a golf club, causing Tiger to crash his uber-expensive SUV and causing the first scandal of 2010.

Nice.

LINK OF THE DAY: Super Trooper!

2010-01-26T19:43:00.004-05:00

The NYTimes ArtsBeat blog reported that wait for it...a ABBA MUSEUM IS OPENING! While my personal memories of Abba are more of the A*Teens variety. Yes I will admit that I am one of "those" people who spent some teenage years actually watching their TV show- and on that front let me just reiterate just how ridiculous that time-traveling trip to Arizona in that TV movie was; yet, I digress. According the Times, London's Abbaworld will include up to 30,000 square feet of memorabilia. Think of it as a Swedish wonderland.

The official website is, and this is coming from me, a little distasteful. A little too much moving parts/glitter in my opinion but it is Abba.

LINK OF THE DAY: Room Envy

2010-01-23T21:14:00.001-05:00

There are rooms that look like they came straight from the Pottery Barn catalog (Not that there's anything wrong with Pottery Barn. Just like there's nothing wrong with J. Crew, but you can't not admit its... matchi-matchi-ness). And then there is Sweet Home Style, a photoblog featuring rooms from mahogany-laced studies with fireplaces blazing to futuristic rooms straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey, with everything in between. The bonus? It's all pretty. And you thought your room was cool.

Sarah Palin Is Now a Helicopter Parent

2010-01-23T20:45:00.003-05:00

I can't believe I missed it. Contrary to popular belief, I tend not to know about the doings of Sarah Palin until after they happen, and it wasn't until this afternoon I discovered that she WAS ON OPRAH yesterday. She and her slightly scandalized daughter Bristol were on the talk show yesterday afternoon, and from the clips I saw on the Daily Intel, it seems it was to talk about Bristol's new public abstinence goal (because that's a big problem now). And take offense to this, Oprah did. And she has excellent points: not only could Bristol have decided this in private, but she's setting herself up in the public's eye with this very private decision. Additionally, Sarah Palin makes a very bad, no good, and terrible joke in the clip below, courtesy of nymag.com:

And one more after the cut

A New "Please Touch" Museum

2010-01-23T11:16:00.005-05:00

For once an art museum is actually giving patrons the opportunity to reach out and touch priceless artwork, well almost priceless artwork. The Queens Museum of Art in New York City, which is subsequently undergoing a massive expansion into its next-door neighbor the World's Fair Ice Rink, unveiled a piece by Daniel Bozhkov that was recently featured in the NYTimes. The work includes a plaster cast of Michelangelo's "Pieta" house behind walls of glass cubes but with a distinct opening through which anyone can reach out and touch what ends up being Jesus's torso.

The cast, on loan from the Met, was made from the original, now housed behind protective glass at the Vatican. After being attacked with a hammer the real Pieta is now housed behind protective glass.

According to the Times:

Mr. Bozhkov, a Bulgarian-born conceptualist, likes to facilitate this kind of interaction with art. Much of his work has to do with the idea of the artist as a tradesman. In past projects he has apprenticed himself to bakers, airplane pilots and other kinds of workers, learning their skills and sharing some of his own.

hile I would never dream of corroding a true masterpiece with oil from my hands, the idea of connecting with such a famous piece through a proxy is incredibly appealing. Maybe, just maybe, the artistic brilliance of Michelangelo as transferred through this mold could inspire the next great master.

image and background from The New York Times

Heidi Montag Would Totally Agree With the Song "Barbie Girl"

2010-01-22T16:37:00.006-05:00

"Life in plastic, it's fantastic!", an infamous line from one-hit wonders Aqua, could totally be Heidi Montag's ,of The Hills and being famous fame, new motto. Unless you have been living under a rock, you are aware that Heidi Montag has undergone a ridiculous amount of plastic surgery. I mean, the King of Pop himself might even be rolling around in his grave. She had a reported (Reported? Who am I kidding? She sold the story to People.) ten surgeries in one day. Ten, like the number of fingers or toes the typical human has. One day, like the time you would need to do something that would take 24 hours. Watch the first season of Lost, or something. And Heidi thinks she looks better. What she looks like is a Stepford Wife. Or Barbie. But Barbie could get away with the whole can't-move-my-face thing, because she's a toy. Heidi did a short yet illuminating interview with Access Hollywood. Not only does she reveal that she almost died, but she says, "I feel pretty plastic," not moving her face "It's still hard for me to chew sometimes and I have to speak very quietly because my jaw and everything ... It's kind of a Cinderella story."

As Heidi would say, she was clearly "upgraded." But at 24, is that too soon?

Link of the Day

2010-01-21T20:11:00.003-05:00

image from the New Jersey Star Ledger- Getty Images

In a 5-4 Supreme Court decision today floodgates were opened for massive amounts of new campaign financing by corporate interests. President Obama condemned the ruling and committed his administration to bipartisan efforts to curb the effects of any new fundraising efforts.

The New York Times writes:

Justice John Paul Stevens read a long dissent from the bench. He said the majority had committed a grave error in treating corporate speech the same as that of human beings. His decision was joined by the other three members of the court’s liberal wing.

China Continues to Take Over the World

2010-01-21T19:57:00.000-05:00

Chinese officials today announced that the Chinese GDP grew by over ten percent over the last year. They said that their economy grew by over eight percent in the LAST QUARTER of 2009. If they continue on this path, they will soon overtake Japan as the world's second largest economy (don't worry, I looked it up; we're first, because the European Union doesn't count.). Egads!

In other news, I saw a bird today.

Link of the Day: Movie Posters of the Decade

2010-01-18T18:49:00.002-05:00

I'm a sucker for a good design. Movie posters and book covers, especially. And no one does movie posters better than The Auteurs's Notebook, who recently put together a list of the top movie posters of the decade, from artsy foreign films to edited-for-TBS movies.

See the complete collection here.

REVIEW: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

2010-01-18T17:37:00.002-05:00

This morning I woke up with an instant choice: should I blog about the dresses from the Golden Globes, or write a movie review for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which I saw last night instead of actually watching the Golden Globes. I ended up settling for the latter, because I'm sure everyone has had enough of the fashion police in the blogosphere and on on E! today. (Although I feel it is important that everyone should know how good GLEE's Dianna Argon looked last night. She's kinda been under the radar.)

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was, as we all know, Heath Ledger's final film (take that, Dark Knight!), and he certainly went out with a bang in his resume. Parnassus is a fun, crazy ride through the imagination of one, you guessed it, Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer). The movie opens up in modern day London, as Dr. Parnassus travels the city with his huge travelling stage. Every day he and his troupe, which includes Percy (Verne Troyer), Anton (Andrew Garfield), and Parnassus's daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole). The hook of Parnassus's show? A magical mirror that, if traveled through, becomes a physical manifestation of the person's imagination. It turns out, though, that the mirror has a darker meaning: it's a way of collecting souls, for both the good Doctor and the evil Mr. Nick, essentially Satan. And now Parnassus must use this mirror to collect five souls that will hopefully choose the good of imagination over the vice of Mr. Nick's world, or else he will lose his daughter Valentina to Mr. Nick. And trust me: no one wants to lose their daughter to the devil. Ledger's role is that of Tony, an 'amnesiac' that helps Parnassus with this mission, after the troupe saves him from a hanging. But he may be hiding something... (of course he's hiding something. this is movie, after all.)

This movie starts off strong, and all of the actors do a great job. Since Ledger died before the "imagination" part of this movie was shot, actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Ferrel had to step in to become the 'other faces' of Tony in the Imaginarium. All three do decently, although Ledger is the best of them all. Newcomer Cole also does decently, even if she can't pass for 16 years old. Her outfits were nice, though. So I guess it cancels out. The climax and ending of this movie get messy, as the actions in the Imaginarium happen so fast it is difficult to keep up with them. Other than that, though, this movie is a fun ride through, literally, imagination.

And because I had to:

Sunday Morning Shows Review

2010-01-17T11:37:00.004-05:00

I needed some sort of impetus to commit myself to watching the Sunday morning shows for a while. I finally realized that I should just initiate some sort of weekly review. Here it goes...

The Chris Matthews Show: By far my favorite program, at least after today's broadcast. Matthews is a talented orator in his own right but seems to live for the back-and-forth battle with guests, always pushing for answers that reveal the truth and not simply a rehearsed answer laced with ''spin''. Today's show delved into the many secrets of the 2008 Presidential campaign as revealed in the new exposee "Game Change: Obama and the Clinton's, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime" (image from Amazon.com) by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. Hailed as one of the best political novels in recent memory, "Game Change" has been featured across the spectrum of mainstream media from Politico to CNN. I appreciated Matthews discussion with his guests, including Senior Washington Correspondent for Newsweek Harold Fineman, over Sarah Palin's presidential prospects in 2012. I was shocked to see so many insiders publicly remark that yes, Palin was indeed preparing herself for the Republican ticket. (I especially enjoyed the fact that such remarks were immediately followed by discussions of Palin's inability to name a founding father other than Washington during a Glenn Beck interview). Overall, full marks.

This Week: Even without George Stephanopoulos this program has managed to maintain its poise. Filmed within the Newsuem several blocks from the Capitol, "This Week" didn't do it for me this morning. I didn't agree with Jake Tapper's questioning of top American commander in Haiti Gen. Ken Keen. Tapper treated Keen as a representative of the American government in a way that characterized him more as an out-of-touch bureaucrat than a soldier working diligently to help a fallen nation. In my opinion, Keen would have no way of knowing the exact duration of the U.S.'s involvement in Haiti nor the amount of troops necessary to secure aid transport. At least for the moment, Haiti is in ruins and needs help. We can discuss how much we spend later on after the recovery efforts have slowed a bit. I just don't see how anyone here in America can criticize volunteers in Haiti.

Meet the Press: I'll admit it-- I didn't really finish "Meet the Press." I was shocked, however, by the same vein of questioning I noticed on "This Week" of Gen. Keen. I promise that next week I'll try and make it through it!