Friday, February 12, 2010

Lover's Dance



The clever Jib Jabbers caught my fancy with this "classic" silent short. Brangelina watch your back... the First Couple could make the screen sizzle and sell their share of popcorn.

BTW:my recent unofficial, unscientific survey of blog hoppers and radio listeners, has candy beating flowers for Valentine's Day gifts. But romantic dinners trump all. And with all his money, Donald Trump better come up with all three (rim shot optional).

All of the above are sweet treats as far as I'm concerned, though I also enjoy teddy bears, books and music. And, fyi, if you're planning on giving your sweetheart a "deferred gift," like say, Broadway show tickets, it's a good idea to actually come up with the goods before the next holiday rolls around. And while you're bestowing imaginary big ticket items, some of us would enjoy an imaginary trip to Paris. Just a suggestion.

Happy Valentine's Day!


Drive safe. Play nice. Think LOVE!

aba

Monday, February 8, 2010

Palin's Cheat Sheet




I swore I was going to ignore the crazy Tea Party Rally last weekend. Planned to steer clear of Sarahcuda's $115,000 keynote speech. But I can't resist a mini rant. Caribou Barbie just annoys me, I guess. While she was busy taunting Obama supporters asking, "how's that hopey changey stuff workin' for ya now?" and deriding the President for using a teleprompter, Palin was "palming" her talking points.

She scribbled "energy, " tax cuts, " and 'Lift America's Spirit" on her palm, and appeared to glance out it frequently during the Q & A following the big speech.Think she'd have those conservative 101 ideals ingrained on her brain. Still, gotta hand it to her, at least Palin's an old-fashioned fourth grade kind of cheater!

And a hypocrite, too. Last week Sarchuda went gunning for White House Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel after a dopey and insensitive remark he made last August surfaced in an article. Okay, he shouldn't have used the 'R' word. But he shouldn't be fired over it either, as Palin has demanded. The fact that Emanuel called progressives boycotting Democratic congressmen who didn't support a public option f--- retarded back in August wasn't just insensitive to the mentally challenged it was a big political tell, too. It was a clear indication that the White House was never eager for or willing to fight hard for full-scale health care reform.

But I digress. Back to Palin. She wants Rahmbo tossed, but she defended Rush Limbaugh's big mouth. Rush added his two cents last week skewering political correctness saying, "people are so insulted because somebody called a bunch of retards, retards." Nice, Rush. So when pressed to comment, Palin first sent a lukewarm rebuke via a spokesperson that decried general "insensitivity" without mentioning Limbaugh by name. Then days later, after the Grand Pooh Bah's people must have called the Wasilla compound, Palin said there was a big difference between Rahm and Rush. Yeah,something like 400 lbs and 300 IQ points "What Rush said was satire," she said.

Yep, Rush is big on satire.You know the way Beck is big on comedy. It's all unintentional.

Think the quitter,half term governor of Alaska's got thing for double standards? You betcha!

Drive safe. play nice. Think peace.

aba

Late Night Super Summit



So I didn't go to a Super Bowl party(saved myself something in the neighborhood of 4,500 unnecessary calories). I always manage to dodge those invites... not a big football fan. But had Oprah called, well, I'm pretty sure I could have summoned the interest. Kudos to both Letterman and Leno. Somehow the famous trio managed to keep the spot under wraps and eluded the paparazzi. The back story has Jay arriving last week in a faux mustache and hoodie at the Ed Sullivan Theatre. Well, done, folks. Hopefully some hatchets were buried.


I didn't even watch the game. But I pointd my remote in CBS' direction during the halftime show and managed to see a bit of The Who... not bad for geriatric rockers. Guess the 'kids" are still alright.And I'm happy for the Saints who won their first Super Bowl in their 45 year history. Good, too, for the battered city of New Orleans still recovering from Katrina's devastation.

And the commercials have gotten their money's worth....along with the Letterman promo, my fave is the Betty White Snickers ad. Abe Vagoda get a nice little punch out of it, too. Sorry, they pulled the plug on the Betty White spot. Some legal mumbo jumbo. Oh well, hope you got a chance to catch it. In protest, think I'll pass on the Snickers and hit the M&Ms instead. Wait, aren't they made by the same company?


Drive safe. Play nice. Think peace.

aba

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Popcorn & Papparazzi




They rolled out the Oscar nominations today. And you'll find more surprises in Cher's costume closet and more cliffhangers at Joan Rivers' plastic surgeon's office.

All the acting categories have clear favorites: the oft-neglected, now five time nominee Jeff Bridges who scored the top prize at both the Golden Globes and SAG Awards--considered predictors for the Big trophy--looks poised for a long over-do win for his acclaimed role in Crazy Heart . Same can be said for first time nominee Sandra Bullock, whose role in the Best Picture nominated The Blindside ,also scored top prize at the Golden Globes and SAGs. Ditto for Best Supporting nominees Mo'Nique and Christoph Waltz, winners for Precious and Inglorious Bastards, respectively.

Of course, the Academy has been known to throw a curve or two. Remember when William Hurt won all those years ago for Kiss of the Spider Woman? Or Gwyneth Paltrow's inexplicable victory for her lightweight turn in Shakespeare in Love? If there's a curve this year, look for a tie bewteen Bullock and Meryl Streep for her amazing performance as Julia Child in Nora Ephron's uneven Julie & Julia.

The real drama could be a battle of the exes as James Cameron's Avatar faces off against ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker in a few categories most notably Best Director and Best Picture. Bigelow has already nabbed the coveted Director's Guild Award, usually a solid Oscar predictor. But Cameron won the Golden Globe.

The Best Picture nominees are:

Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Precious, An Education, A Serious Man, Inglorious Bastards, The Blind Side, District 9, Up and Up in the Air.

The big question: now that there are 10 Best Picture nominees, how long will the show be? Place your bets. I've got dibs on April 15. I figure they've got to get home in time to hit the local H&R Block and pay homage to the tax man. And with Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin handling the festivities, the evening could be a delight or a disaster. Let's just hope they fare better than Gervas at the Globes and Colbert at the Grammys. They really should have an eject button installed and Billy Crystal warming up in the bull pen.

I can't comment on all the films, but Up in the Air -- which captured the cultural zeitgeist--might pull out a wild card win. Read more in my News Junkie Post review.

Living in Limbo: Clooney Soars Up in ‘Air’ | NEWS JUNKIE POST


Drive safe. Play nice. Pass the popcorn.

aba

Monday, February 1, 2010

Not so Gaga over Grammy




OMG: I just realized Mario Cantone is my mother! Okay, wait, that's impossible. But I just saw the comic's acerbic Grammy review on The View Monday, and it was like reliving Sunday's broadcast with my mom's commentary running as the colorful play-by-play. Both Mom and Mario had some choice observations about Lady Gaga's get-ups. Mario: "she thought she'd relax in an outfit that makes her look like the Winter Warlock." Mom: "What's all that schmutz on her face about?" Mom didn't get Elton's mambo mutant Ninja earring either. Or those decorative arms-- discards from the "fame factory"-- that adorned the piano. "What is this early Halloween?" would be the popular refrain of the evening.

Pink's damp costume and ( actually amazing) Cirque de Soleil tricks, Beyonce's Tina Turner moves and the Black Eyed Peas garnered quips from both pundits. Mario's commentary about the Peas was a tad more R-rated (especially for morning TV) than Mom's. He thought the back-up dancers looked like a particular part of the female anatomy with which he may not be all that familiar. Mom just said they looked like "aliens." No wait, she edited herself, "they're robots." No, "They're alien robots from another planet." Thanks for clearing that up, Mom

And the lyrics to most of the songs eluded both Mario and Mom. At one point during the Eminem, Rap act, I think, they were bleeped. No need, as Mario and Mom pointed out, you can't understand them anyway. Mario said he was dialing his cable company for a refund. "I'm not paying for those three hours. I want a credit." Mom didn't make the claim, but I bet she was thinking it."The whole thing is giving me a headache already, " Mom lamented as we pushed through the show's interminable first hour.

She dozed off before the lackluster Michael Jackson 3D tribute, which unless you were--as Mario pointed out--one of the nine people with the special glasses--only looked blurry. And a tad boring.

There were highlights: among them The Zac Brown Band playing with Leon Russell( Mom: "Santa Claus missed the last Sleigh home. Mario: They gave Father Time a life time achievement award); Maxwell singing with Roberta Flack and Taylor Swift singing with her childhood icon; Stevie Nicks, who as both Mario and I(uh, oh, I'm morphing into Mom, too) pointed out has been sporting the same do and the same flowy black dress from the wiccan catalogue since the '70's.


Beyonce won six Grammys--the most by any female artist on a single show--including song of the year. But record honors went to the deserving Kings of Leon, and the album of the year was Taylor Swift's Fearless. The Zac Brown Band got best new artist honors. And one of Westchester's former favorite sons,Louden Wainwright III won his first Grammy for best traditional folk album. Gaga didn't score any of the top prizes, but the Madonna of the new generation didn't go home empty-handed. Along with her costumes she got to schlep Grammys for both electronic/dance song and album of the year. Congrats to all.

Oh, and Quentin Tarantino: Mario's Aunt wants her blouse back. Wait, I'm pretty sure that's the same blouse my Aunt Frieda wore to my cousin's baby shower in 1978. Maybe we are related.

And Lady Gaga's alien- from-the- green-lagoon costume will give Mom nightmares for weeks. Be on the look-out for our new show, "Watching TV with Mom" It will be a huge hit. On No Tube.

Oh, and all that ringing in your ears, Mom? No extra charge.

Drive safe. Play nice. Think peace.

aba