Jeez Jon

Carrie Prejean Vs. The Word "Appropriate"

Carrie Prejean, the former Miss California USA, is on a tour publicizing her new book, Still Standing.  [No, I'm not linking to it. -ed.]  You may have heard that she was suing the Miss USA pageant for wrongful termination.  Prejean claims it was for her bone-headed statement regarding gay marriage while the Miss USA organization said she wasn't showing up for work.  So, when Miss Prejean met with the reps from the Miss USA people about settling her $1 million suit, they played their trump card:  her sex tape.  And because of her little one-woman show, she settled. 

Back to her tour.  After hitting up the Today Show and The View, she appeared on Larry King's show.  And she took umbrage to Larry King asking her questions about the sex tape.  So, she acted in as professional manner as she could... which means she was highly, highly unprofessional.  Take a gander:

I seriously doubt that the reason why Miss Ladyfingers (tm Joe.My.God) settled is considered "confidential". And to take her mic off just as a gay man called in to ask her a question is also total bullshit.  If you can't handle questions from Larry King, then you really, really have a problem.   

Prejean's book is supposedly about the 1st Amendment, and how she was "attacked for saying her beliefs."  Lemme explain something about the 1st Amendment: I have the right to my opinion, and you have the right to voice your opinion on my opinion.  That's how an open society works.  It's call free discourse.  Yes, you can say whatever you want, but you are also held accountable for what you say.  That's also part of being an adult.

Acting like a spoiled brat on national television is not "appropriate".  Being routinely curt and pissy with a host on a TV show that you are using to hawk your damn book is so not "appropriate".  Turning off your mic while you are on camera is also not "appropriate".  So, Miss Prejean, it's time to put the web camera down and pick up a dictionary.  'Cause your behavior -- not Larry King's -- is inappropriate. 

[Huge hat tip to Joe.My.God.]

Potpourri

And now, a blog post in bullet form 'cause frankly, there's not enough going on right now to justify a full post on one subject.  So, enjoy the melange:

• I've fallen into a good rhythm with work.  The show is progressing well, and some of the new peeps in the Story department are pretty great.  We all get along, and the company is treating us well. So, not much to report here.
• It goes without saying that I'm very disappointed with the vote in Maine about same-sex marriage.  This is going to be a very long battle.  I am somewhat heartened by the possible passage of a domestic partnership registry in the state of Washington.  Two steps back, one step forward.  
• Halloween was fun.  We actually had trick-or-treaters this year, which is a rarity since (1) we live on a very steep hill, (2) which isn't very well lit and (3) we live in an apartment building.  So, with some friends, we set up a table, put up some decorations, and handed out candy.  By doing this, we ended up meeting some new neighbors, and hung out with them that night.  We watched Scream and played Rock Band 'til about 2am.  Pretty fun.
• I've been on a bit of a Muse kick lately.  I'm currently hooked on their latest single, Undisclosed Desires.  Here's the video:

How're all you?

Keep Your Hands Of My Cards

Back in 1991, PBS here in the U.S. played the BBC miniseries House of Cards.  For the uninitiated, House of Cards is a political satire about a highly duplicitous Member of Parliament who lies, cheats, blackmails and kills his way to success.  All the while, he's talking to the camera, taking us in his confidence.  He's just to the right of Margaret Thatcher and also highly, highly evil... and we root for him. Why?  'Cause he's charming and smart, and way smarter than the other people he's stepping on as he climbs the ladder.  And his name is Francis Urquhart.  I mean, his initials are F.U., for cry eye. Here's a taste of Francis sizing up the competition at the Conservative convention:

The thing is... he's right. Those guys are dopey and dull and here is F.U., witty, urbane, and right. Even though he's very, very wrong. Played to perfection by Ian Richardson, F.U. is Richard III and Iago, swathed in the charm of Oscar Wilde.  It's a brilliant character, and House of Cards (and its two sequels, To Play The King and The Final Cut) is fantastic television, and easily among the best miniseries ever done. 

So, you can imagine my horror last week when I found out that the man tapped to do the American version of this wonderful show was Benjamin Button auteur David Fincher.  Now, as you know, I hated Benjamin Button with a pretty intense passion.  The last thing I want to have happen is Fincher to get "artsy" with this and "put his fingerprints all over it." His work tends to be bloated, sluggish, and rather self-important. I hated Alien 3, thought Panic Room was okay, Fight Club is WAY overrated (IKEA is the root of all evil? Don't think so.), and... okay, fine, Se7en is a good movie, you got me there. The only projects on David Fincher's resume I do like are his videos for Madonna (especially Vogue).  House of Cards is ripe for a remake, especially considering the state of politics here in the US, but David Fincher?  Seriously?  Sigh.  I'm not thrilled about this... at all.

Anniversary, With Some Perspective

One year ago today in a courthouse in Van Nuys, California, Tom and I got married.  It's a great day, and I'm in a great mood, as you can imagine. (Well, I'm definitely in a better mood than earlier this week.)  The plans for the day are pretty mellow:  catching a movie, some dinner, and then maybe some Rock Band with friends.  We both want a mellow, relaxed day of just hanging out and spending time with each other. 

This anniversary coincides with our Nobel Peace Prize winning President making a speech tonight at the Human Rights Campaign dinner.  Now, much as been said about whether or not Obama will deliver more on gay rights issues. On one level, he does need to be more forthright.  Yes, he should step up and push Congress to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."  He should speak out about marriage equality in Maine, which would help the movement out a lot.  And he does need to be out on front on repealing DOMA.

But, let's think about what has actually happened thus far.  He said he's going to sign the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, which would be the first major piece of legislature protecting LGBT rights that Congress has put through.  The Employee Non-Discrimination Act is making its way through Congress.  He's appointed over 100 out gays and lesbians to administration positions.  Also, his speech to the HRC tonight is great in symbolic terms.  Would President McCain be speaking to the HRC?  Probably not.  And you know Romney, Palin, Pawlenty and Huckabee definitely would not.  Obama might not be the savior the gay community may have hoped for.  But he's an ally.  WE are our own saviors, and it's our responsibility to keep the pressure up on Obama, and for us to realize it's not all going to happen at once.

The Real Victims

Will Ferrell and a cast of funny people speak out for the real victims of the health care debate: 

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

Classic.

[H/T: My bro, via Facebook.]

Catching Up

I've been away from the blog for a while, so lemme do the updating here, in some news briefs:

Biggest News:  I'm back to work on Season 2 of MTV's Is She Really Going Out With Him? next month.  I had a blast on last season, and I can't wait to skewer more douches with the next season.  Plus the regular paycheck will be nice, too.  And everyone that I work with are awesome, hilarious professionals.  Which is pretty great, especially considering I work in reality television. 

Bigger News: After 6 years of being PC users (and 6 years of using the same desktop PC), Tom and I over the weekend made the switch to a brand spanking new iMac.  It's the 24" model, with tons of space on the hard drive, an actual fast processor, and actual less physical space on our desk.  True, the monitor on this is MASSIVE, but it still is far sleeker and more efficient than the boat anchor we've been using.  This is what ours looks like:

Pretty, no? Couple this with the iPod I got for my birthday, I am turning into a Mac user.  Now, I am really fighting against from being one of those Mac users. The last thing I want to be is one of those smug a-holes tut-tutting at people because their computer doesn't have an apple on it.  I like Macs, I like how they function, and that's it.  Doesn't say anything else about me except I like using Macs.  Also, we can use Final Cut Pro on it, the editing system that was used on our movie.  So we can now make some shorts and films here.  So there's that.

Big News:  Tom, three friends of ours and I went to visit our gal-pal Harper in Scottsdale, Arizona over Labor Day weekend.  It's a great place to visit; great desert surroundings, nice laid back vibe, nice people.  It was nice to get a chance of scenery from LA, and even though we were in heavy Red State country, it was quite a nice visit.  One side note:  on the drive back, the 5 of us stopped for lunch at a small bar & grill in Quartzsite, right by the California border.  Above the bar were two TV monitors that were, of course, on Fox News.  We lucked in at the tail end of Neil Cavuto's show and then Glenn Beck's show started up.  Eating our lunch, everyone at the bar suffered about five minutes of Beck's craziness when one guy at the bar said "Could we please watch something else?"  Mercifully, the bartender said yes, and switched on football.  So, when people in John McCain's state are saying no to Glenn Beck, I take that as a good sign. 

Mucho Kudos To Barney Frank

Awesome Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) had a townhall meeting with his constituents and one of them compared health care reform to, of course, the Nazis.  And Rep. Frank has the best comeback:

Fantastic, Rep. Frank.  Freakin' fantastic!

[H/T to Joe.My.God]

Glenn Beck Got SERVED

One of the people railing against health care reform is Fox News pundit Glenn Beck.  Sixteen months ago, a Headline News pundit has botched surgery and called for health care reform.  That pundit?  Glenn Beck.  As always, The Daily Show puts it together for us here.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Glenn Beck's Operation
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Spinal Tap Performance

Brilliant, as always.  With segments like this, it's no wonder a recent poll named Jon Stewart the most trusted newsman in America. Keep up the good work, sir.

I've Had Enough

For years, my mom taught elementary school in some of the rough-and-tumble areas of Chicago and its burbs.  One thing she taught us is that you don't talk while someone else is talking because that means you aren't listening and therefore are being disrespectful.  Which means, you are being rude.  So, as you can imagine, I've seriously had my fill of the shouting mobs at the healthcare townhalls across the country. I can't deal with it anymore. I can't watch anymore footage of it, I don't want to hear about it, I am just done.

Keep in mind, there isn't even a voted-on bill in Congress yet.  But, because the health insurance industry is scared shitless about the possibility of actually competing against a public option, they have hired Dick Armey's lobbying group Freedom Works (link goes to Rachel Maddow's investigation of Freedom Works) to go wrangle up a bunch of panic about what could happen.  "There will be death panels!"  No, there won't.  You can opt to get some counseling on end-of-life care.  Emphasis on the word "opt", as in you can choose to do it or not. "There will be federal funding for abortion."  No, there won't, due to the Hyde Amendment.  "There will be rationing of health care!" If you've ever seen the movie Sicko, the health insurance companies are already doing it, ruling on what they will pay for and what they won't. 

What this basically means is that the other side of the aisle has decided not to actually offer a competing solution but to try to torpedo what the President and the Democrats have to offer. Honestly, this is the coward's way out.  If you want to debate the issue, let's debate the issue.  Let's discuss it.  But if we are going to it, we're going to do it like adults.  Let each side speak and then respond.  And we're going to actually discuss the facts, not some fabrication about death panels.  Shouting over anybody to get your point across is a bullying tactic, pure and simple.  We are taught at a very young age that bullies are bad people, and must not be tolerated.  If we aren't going to tolerate this behavior with our kids, then why should we tolerate it from adults? 

I know plenty of Republicans, and none of them are these screaming harridans you see on basic cable, screaming at Arlen Specter or Claire McCaskill.  And when I see these people having full on temper tantrums (and seriously, that's what they're doing), I feel sorry for my Republican friends.  I'm sure they felt the same way about me when the extreme left was pulling their Bush Is A Nazi stuff during the Iraq war.  Anytime you have to resort to screaming and/or comparing anyone to Hitler or Nazis, you have lost your argument, and a lot of respect from people.  So let's all take a chill pill, a deep breath, and talk to each other like adults.  Please.

Oh, one last thing, and this is to all of the wingnuts who are screaming and yelling and ripping up people's pictures of Rosa Parks.  All of your bullying hullabaloo has had an effect on me.  Oh yes, it's motivated me... to call my Congressman and my Senators tomorrow and tell them to stay strong on health care and pass the reform.  The more you scream and yell, bullies, the more I will dig in my heels.  And trust me, there are plenty of people like me who will do the same.  So scream all you want.  The more you scream, the more you will lose.

"North... To The Future!"

As we all know, Sarah Palin resigned Sunday as governor of Alaska.  Her farewell speech, like many of her decisions, was confusing and strange... and rather hilarious.  In order to understand some of the odd statements in her farewell address, Conan O'Brien brought in the best verse interpreter he could think of: William Shatner.
P>

Ahh, now she's beginning to make sense to me....

[H/T: Ana Marie Cox]