Last night, a terrifically talented young dancer named Lauren won “So You Think You Can Dance.” And a terrifically overblown trainwreck named Rachel was voted out of “Big Brother.” To the naked eye, they both look to be at diametrically opposite ends of the talent spectrum — one has it, the other doesn’t. Yet I have enjoyed them both very much.
NBC’s Today Show announced that they are opening their “Modern Wedding Contest” up to same-sex couples getting married. Needless to say, the Comments section of an online site announcing this news has received a lot of feedback from the Intolerant Backwash of America.
But there was one comment that held my attention — from someone named “Hannah,” whose fundamental opinion I obviously don’t agree with. However, even though her underlying belief is not one I can support, there is a clear-headedness to her conclusion that is rather astonishing:
I really don’t know what’s going on over there in France. Don’t they know that there’s supposed to be a degree of covertness when applying the “sex sells” formula? Mais non.
And the bear is a little too buff and unclad for me. I guess I don’t go for bears. But the dancing’s pretty good…
There aren’t that many things that leave me speechless. But this ad for French television from the soft drink company Orangina is so weird on so many levels. And then it’s gay. (more…)
This is going to be one of those spiritual-philosophical posts, so forewarned is fore-whatevered. I just watched the finale of “Lost” again. It’s a good thing I’m writing, because I’m speechless.
I believe I made an entry after this first aired, and I don’t believe I understated its impact, emotionally and spiritually. But it was hard to understand the full scope of it, while in the midst of trying to figure out the parameters. And now that I know the frame, watching the picture a second time has been extraordinary. Particularly on the other side of my sister’s death.
I’m not ready to do a full, brainiac analysis of the finale of Lost, but I have to say this one thing: This show does something that I don’t recall any other piece of storytelling doing…and it was exemplified as this extraordinary finale unfolded. Seldom — to never — have I had the experience of being deeply emotionally connected with a story while I have no idea what-the-hell is going on.
Thank you, Lost. You’ve expanded the horizons.
Saturday Night Live is pretty hopeless these days, and last night’s wasn’t really an exception. However, there was one bit during Weekend Update that made me cry I was laughing so hard. I’m a lover for Bill Hader. Enjoy:
There is someone named Heidi who apparently was on a reality-adjacent series on MTV; I tried to watch an episode, but lacked the endurance. During my viewing period — akin to the amount of time one can stare at an eclipsing sun before the retinas incinerate — I was not able to discern which of the dramatis personae was the Heidi.
I feel obliged to state that Heidi Whatever’s name doesn’t appear often in my thoughts or my discourse. However, a recent article brought her up — not unlike scallops eaten in robust combination with Jagermeister (though it is, perhaps, unfair to attribute both retinal and digestive damage to one blonde celebutante). It seems that this young women also aspires to sing, and her debut CD is called “Superficial.” But I’m not here to make a point of the obvious. The noteworthy information is that, while Susan Boyle and Mariah Carey battle for multi-platinum, the results of Heidi’s CD sales have come in: 658.
After watching all seasons of So You Think You Can Dance, plus just last night watching a tape of this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, I have pinpointed a mounting trend that I find quite disconcerting: television has concluded that we’re more interested in watching people’s reactions to things than to the things themselves.
Yes, it it customary to cut between a performance and the audience (or judges) watching a performance, but the time ratio between performance and reaction has drastically altered. On the Kennedy Show Honors, there was literally at least 50 percent of performance time devoted to reaction shots. Granted, some of the shots were of the honorees, but here’s a tip for directors: If you’ve captured a reaction shot of great surprise over what they are viewing, chances are WE WANT TO SEE IT TOO.
I’ve watched this clip like seven times, and it still makes me laugh so hard I cry. Enjoy: