Am I Really Wishing Something Bad On An Entire State?

It's true. I want Virgina to get flooded. Like majorly flooded. Like what's happened to people in New Jersey, New York, Vermont, etc. Like what's about to happen, again, to New Orleans. But Eric "I'm The Ultimate Douche" Cantor doesn't understand disaster relief.

I have friends and family in Virginia, so I don't actually want them to get flooded out. But this jerk wants every cent that goes out for disaster relief to be offset by spending cuts. For disasters. Where people lose everything and other people die, he's worried more about austerity?! You've got to be f-ing kidding me.

This guy is the ultimate asshole. What is it going to take for him to understand that people suffering losses from the tornado in Joplin, MO, Irene on the East Coast, and now Lee by the Gulf need help, not more crap about lowering taxes and spending?

I could feel a bit better if he would pay even a bit of attention to the fact that all these disasters are from everything shifting around on the planet due to increased water due to, you guessed it, global warming. Oh wait, he's anti-regulation too.

If only corporations had basements filled with family mementos that got trashed and had offices in these communities trapped by bridge washouts. This this crazy man would care about disaster relief.

How To Get Your Name In The Headlines: Obscure Repub Edition

There are the big names one thinks of when they think of Republicans today. Those people matter either because of the current position they hold or because of their chances at a future current position. These are people like Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, and yes, Karl Rove.

When you hear these names, it's because you've just heard them and will hear them again tomorrow. Those who don't make this cut are sidelines for a number of reasons. Either they're not important enough, or their important belongs more to yesterday.

CNN's Politics page seems to be splattered with insignificant people who've made big statements in an effort to beef up their public exposure. Well, here you go people, I'm exposing you.

Herman I-Wanna-Be-The-New-Token Cain Thinks Obama Should Be Impeached.

Pulling out the big guns a bit early, are we Herman? Who do you think you are? Rick Perry? You're no Rick Perry. Silly rabbit. Who do you think is going to reward you for such insolence?

Christine O'Donnell walked out on Piers Morgan and she is rightly being lambasted for it. I agree with this opinion piece wholeheartedly. What did she think she was going to be asked? Seriously, chick you're no Michelle Bachmann.

On to people who it does make sense to mention these days, and the old folks trapped in their headline by association...

Bill Clinton had the hots for Rick Perry

Maybe it's me, but I don't see it. I don't think Rick Perry is very good looking at all. All I can see is that large expanse of skin from his nose to his upper lip. It's like unkempt landscape over there. I love laugh lines, but his just look angry. His eyebrows don't suit his face, his ears are too big, and that old man loose skin flap threatening to hide the top of his collar is soooo icky. I'm just saying...

Bachmann screw up... oh hell everything. This time it's Elvis' birthday. I think all the people who think education sucks must be her biggest fan. It's totally fine to get everything wrong all the time because at least you're not an egghead. Is that the reasoning? Someone please explain to my why anyone cares what comes out of her mouth?

If my job was fact-checking this chick, I'd be rich! Rich!

Really Perry?! Already With The Talk Of Treason?!?!

So, apparently, it's never too early in one's primary race for president to start throwing around the word treason. At least, not when it comes to Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Apparently, being "passionate" is a good reason to call Ben Bernanke treasonous.
Seriously?! You've been campaigning for all of, what, three days and you're pulling out words people used to die over?!

Those are fighting words, Perry. Fighting words!

And seriously?! You're going after Democratic people already?! Why not focus on the actual primary which you must win to even be relevant in this discussion in a year.

And while I'm on the subject, seriously?! You won like 875 votes in the Ames' Straw Poll for emotional farmers and you think it's time to focus on the long game?

Seriously dude, you have to beat batshit crazy Michele I Don't Believe Anyone's Really Gay But They Can Be A Witch Bachmann before you've earned the right to start calling folks treasonous.

If this is what you're doing this early, Lord only knows how much farther you'll sink on the premise of passion. Hopefully you'll sink just far enough for reasonable people to run screaming away from you. Seriously.

Rick Perry, Get On In Here!

Oh yeah! I'm doing a happy dance as more and more loony ass Republicans hop into the race for President. Rick I-Don't-Like-Hispanics-Even-Though-Countless-Numbers-Of-Them-Live-In-My-State Perry threw his hat in the ring.

The only thing that could make me more happy is if Sarah Palin would join in too.

Although he doesn't officially announce his candidacy until tomorrow, like other Repubs before him, <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/11/breaking-perry-will-announce-saturday/">there's been a pre-announcement</a>.

Previous reports had indicated that Perry would use a speech at the conservative RedState Gathering in Charleston to make his intentions clear, but would stop short of officially announcing a presidential bid.

But the Republican source told CNN that Perry will be in the Republican presidential race on Saturday.

And doing her job as the newer, loonier, slightly better educated Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann is doing her "look at me" dance by already commenting on his candidacy -- before it even starts. <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/12/bachmann-camp-to-perry-why-the-no-show-at-gop-debate/">Read the article</a>.

"I think the interesting thing is, he wasn't here tonight," Bachmann adviser Ed Goeas said. "He's not involved in the Iowa Straw poll. If he in fact…is getting in this race at the end of the week, I think the real question, especially for many of the people here in Iowa are asking was: why weren't you here tonight?"

This was about Thursday's race. And seriously, who cares about Iowa's straw poll? We already know what's going down there, they are going to pick whoever combines the right mix of fiscal conservativism (real word? prolly not) with social freedom with a dash of states rights.

Iowa only matters as much as what the next three states do. For the Democrats in 2008, it was a big deal because no one expected Obama to beat Clinton. But there's far too many candidates in the race for the Repubs to make a difference, in my not-so-humble opinion.

So while they fret about things that won't make a difference anyway, I'll just sit back and grin and hope more and more nutbags join up and muddy the waters.

Palin Strings Together A Coherent Argument, If Only Because So Many Others Have Said The Same Thing Before

<a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/08/palin-on-downgrade-i-told-you-so/#more-170473">Read the CNN article</a>

I'm not saying she's coherent, mind you. I'm saying her argument was. Any conservative can string together a bunch of reasoning about lowering spending and stopping regulation and lowering taxes.

I'm not even sure if it was really coherent or if I'm just so used to hearing conservatives say this crap that it sounds normal.

But let's get real here. Lowering spending gets you nowhere without revenue increases. Every idiot, except Palin knows that.

Stopping regulation is why we got in this mess in the first place. Without regulation, every body gets broke in bubble after bubble, everyone gets asthma, and everyone eats GH-pumped food. But looking at the size of her kids, I guess that's not such bad thing to her.

Mark's no Brawny man, but she makes him look dainty. Big ass.

And lowering taxes is of course stupid. Maybe cause she's in Alaska she doesn't realize how essential roads and cops and telephone lines are to the rest of us. Without taxes, they will never get around to fixing that pot-ridden ass hole on the next block down from my parents' house.

And my biggest gripe is that after all of this, she said "I told you so"?!?!? Seriously?! She's such a brat. She could have said, "I saw this coming," but no, she went more petulant. As is her way.

And yet still, I'm hoping and wishing this woman would throw her hat in the ring.

Post-Racial My @#$

Yeah, Barack Obama represents the shift to a more post-racial world and all that. My father refers to me as "post-racial" occasionally. He means it as a half-compliment.

But, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/08/06/mississippi.hate.crime/index.html?hpt=hp_c1">just read this and you'll understand why I titled this post the way I did.

Image: <a href="http://www.mississippilink.com/image_6f47a670-b1b7-11e0-8081-001cc4c03286.html">The Mississippi Link</a>

In these current times where Hollywood etc. are glossing over history and removing evidence that things weren't always so integrated, it's nice to see CNN not shy away from the hard details of what happened. Here's a direct quote from the article:

As the teens were partying and drinking miles away from Jackson that night, in largely white Rankin County, Dedmon told friends they should leave, saying "let's go fuck with some niggers," according to law enforcement officials.

It's hard to read and it makes me very sad. These mis-guided young men did a horrible thing. They suck and they will pay.

The one good thing about the Big Brother-ness of America these days is that this attack was caught on camera. The entire thing was caught on camera.

There's no doubt this was racially motivated. The hate crime designation makes this offense have a stronger punishment, even in Mississippi.

These racists will be punished. James Craig Anderson will be avenged via the justice system thanks to technology. I can't even begin to imagine what his family is going through. Nor can I imagine what the families of the criminals are going through.

I do hope this doesn't spark some sort of race war. This is Mississippi after all. If I could change one thing about the world, it would be to make everyone magically aware of everyone else's humanity.

It's amazing that people forget others are people too! Just because they look different or speak differently doesn't mean they're not still a person with family, hopes, dreams, personality.

If you forget those who are not your in your immediate circle are people too, you're an asshole. It's just that simple.

Don't Even Get Me Started On The Debt Ceiling

Anyone who says it's equally both sides making things difficult is a centrist jerk. People who think that finding a compromise in the middle is the best way, always, are crazy. Especially when that middle keeps shifting as those to one side keep taking gigantic steps away from the other side.

I'm looking at you, Roland Martin. You're a crazy person to think that it's both the Democrats and Republicans equally holding up progress.

The Democrats are still whining about having to potentially cut some of the entitlement programs. But they're sure as hell not going to have to be coerced with promises of constitutional amendments and pizza to get their vote on a bill that doesn't completely suck.

The Republicans in general and the Tea Partiers in particular are appearing more and more to be full-blown lunatics. A lot of these freshman members of Congress don't fully understand how the process works. They think they can get an amendment to the constitution passed during election year. Election year. Passed. In all 50 states etc.

Seriously? I know these people constantly deride and undervalue education. But did none of them take civics at any point from 5th grade to grad school? Sigh.

Back to the point at hand. Now, suddenly, there's a silver lining. I don't know that there's more of one than before. I just know that the media tide has shifted and all the calls of the sky falling are shifting to faux rainbow sightings. I'm looking at you New York Times.

This craziness almost made my parents hesitate to sign a contract for my wedding venue. This is where this gets personal. I have half a mind to move to another state, just so I can vote against any one of these rich guys who have no problem pushing the rest of America, and the planet, to the brink of economic disaster.

Seriously, Murdoch? What The Hell?!

First off, shout out to Amazon & Kindle for being awesome! I pay for a monthly subscription to the New York Times newspaper and get it delivered on my Kindle.

When The New York Times started charging people to read their website, Kindle worked with them to get access for their subscribers. So now I can link to articles and you can read them too! It's so great. And now I'm done gushing and back to ranting.

If you haven't read about the scandal in Europe right now, pay more attention to the news. Read this article, and then read all the related articles it links to.

And shame on you for not being on top of this craziness.

So here's my beef: what is Murdoch's issue? After this thing keeps ballooning bigger and bigger, his response is still infuriating.

I feel like had he just distanced himself from the people and organizations involved, he might have emerged a bit better. A good old fashioned under-the-bus-throwing was very apropos is this situation.

But this keeps getting bigger and bigger. I think he thinks he's too big to fail. I think he thinks he's Al Pacino in Ocean's Thirteen.



Look at 1:25, 1:55, 2:45, but especially 2:52 to see what I mean. And with people like Tom Perkins having his back, Murdoch of course believes he'll be okay, no matter how long the earthquake shakes his giant twisted building.

I will be following this story to see what happens when he goes before the committee in Parliament that should be going on right about now.

Really Sarah Palin and Donald Trump?

Meeting for pizza in New York City? Really?

Sharing your thoughts about prospective candidates even though one of you is technically still standing on the edge of the ring hat in hand? Really?

Using "kind of" in every damn quote? Really? Is that supposed to be folksy or everyman?

Having your hairstyle be an integral part of who you are as a person? Really?

Seriously, these two bug me. Sarah Palin is on her bus tour across the country going to all these historic sites, but stopping for pizza at the Trump tower somehow fits the vision? I guess.

I suppose I'd do it if I were her. If she does declare candidacy, her only shot is to be backed by someone with deep pockets. And Trump is just batshit birther crazy enough to support that woman.

Those two love their publicity. And I'm unfortunately adding to it. Google is getting my stats. I read every article with either of their names in it. I guess I'm drawn to the still-surprisingly low depths they'll sink to.

Maybe they'll right a book. Then I'll have to read it and look at myself in the mirror and go, "Really?"

Keith Olbermann's New Show

So Keith Olbermann isn't on MSNBC anymore. This isn't news. If you didn't know that, please remove your head from the sand. But he is going to have another show. On a network partly owned by a Democrat. Please, hold your appalled gasps til the end.


Here's why this is good news: all of his rant-y, liberal-ness will come brimming out without restraint. I know, I know, who would accuse Keith Olbermann of using restraint? But the truth is what he said went through a filter, albeit it one with huge holes.


So I'm only posting this to express how I am on the edge of my seat waiting for his new show. I'm praying that by the time it is on the air, I have a job and therefore the money to pay to get the cable channel that his show will be on.


I bet the network will be so green. Green as environmentally friendly, not necessarily wet behind the ears.


But in case you are like me and were jonesing for a Keith Olbermann fix, there is a blog that has all of what you would get on his show. There's even a Worst Persons In The World posting almost daily. At the top of the page it says "The Official Not-For-Profit Blog Of Keith Olbermann". Here it is.


I wonder is there a for-profit blog with even better content? I dunno. But the angry Democrat is me is currently yet only momentarily soothed.

The Best Online Quiz Ever!

I wrote a post about an online quiz on my main blog. I haven't put the post up yet though. It'll be up in a few days. But in that post, I explain my love for online quizzes. I won't get into here again, but look out for that post on the main blog within the next week.


So, I've established (sort of) that I love online quizzes. I also love politics. I also love current events in the media. Imagine my joy when I came across this quiz in New York Magazine that combined all these things. It's called It's Time To Play "Sheen, Beck, or Qaddafi?" If you enjoy the craziness (and by enjoy I mean get a sick sense of observing cultures completely unlike your own) that comes from these three, try this quiz.


Why take this quiz? Have you been paying attention to the world in February? Glenn Beck is Fox News' latest talking head. Charlie Sheen tossed aside his career for a ride on the crazy bus. Muammar Qaddafi is standing in the way of Libyan revolution. He'd rather kill his people and go out in a blaze of glory.


Unless you spend all your hours surfing the web, reading Fox News, and constantly updating youtube, you will not be able to tell which guy actually said what for more than a handful of these. So I'm taking the quiz. Take it with me!


Statement #1: "I ask you to prepare because your world is about to change overnight."
Who I think said it: Glenn Beck
Who actually said it: Glenn Beck!

Statement #2: "They have awoken a sleeping giant. If I'm misunderstood after yesterday, then people are worse off than I thought."
Who I think said it: Charlie Sheen
Who actually said it: Charlie Sheen!

Statement #3: "I will plant my flag on this, and I will fall on my sword if I have to!"
Who I think said it: Glenn Beck
Who actually said it: Glenn Beck!

Statement #4: "I have no authority stemming from laws or decisions or anything else, I just have moral authority, I only have moral authority."
Who I think said it: Muammar Qaddafi
Who actually said it: Muammar Qaddafi!

Statement #5: "If you love with violence and you hate with violence, there's nothing that can be questioned."
Who I think said it: Glenn Beck
Who actually said it: Charlie Sheen

Statement #6: "I urge all my beautiful and loyal fans...to walk with me side-by-side as march up the steps of justice to right this unconscionable wrong."
Who I think said it: Muammar Qaddfi
Who actually said it: Charlie Sheen

Statement #7: "I'm a guy that's riddled with flaws and by taking my flaws out and putting it in the refiner's fire and letting the bellows of life heat it up, I get the opportunity to pound on my flaw and try to perfect it."
Who I think said it: Glenn Beck
Who actually said it: Glenn Beck!

Statement #8: "You want to call me crazy? Go to hell. Call me crazy all you want!"
Who I think said it: Charlie Sheen
Who actually said it: Glenn Beck

Statement #9: "They give them pills at night, they put hallucinatory pills in their drinks, their milk, their coffee, their Nescafe."
Who I think said it: Muammar Qaddafi
Who actually said it: Muammar Qaddafi!

Statement #10: "This march cannot be stopped by those agents, those rats who move in the dark."
Who I think said it: I didn't know. This one is hard. I'm gonna say... Muammar Qaddafi
Who actually said it: I was right! Muammar Qaddafi!

Statement #11: "I will destroy you in the air. I will deploy my ordinance to the ground."
Who I think said it: I want to say Muammary Qaddafi because it sounds like what he's actually been doing in Libya, but I bet it's not even him. But that's still my guess.
Who actually said it: It wasn't him! It was stupid crazy Charlie Sheen. I should have known. I wanted to guess his crazy ass, but it didn't seem reasonable. I should have known not to apply reason unless I was sure of the answer.

Statement #12: "You need to listen to your parents. I people disobey their parents, the end up destroying the country."
Who I think said it: Glenn Beck
Who actually said it: Muammar Qaddafi. Darn! It sounded so douchey. I wasn't thinking about these revolutions starting with the young people and moving up in age later. He probably said that earlier in February.

Statement #13: "The rain has begun to fall in the perfect storm. It has begun"
Who I think said it: Glenn Beck
Who actually said it: Glenn Beck! I'm glad I was right. That statement is douchey and doomsday-ish.

Statement #14: "There's a new sheriff in town. And he has an army of assassins."
Who I think said it: Charlie Sheen, this shit is just too straightforward-ly crazy.
Who actually said it: Charlie Sheen! I was right. Dictators use code words for "I will kill you all."

Statement #15: "Forget BMWs and iPads and jewelry. Do you want to know what the next luxury item is? Believe it or not, orange juice."
Who I think said it: This sounds douchey and doomsday-ish. I'm gonna say Glenn Beck.
Who actually said it: Yay! Glenn Beck! Crazy ass.


How did I do? I got out 10 of 15. How did you do? I feel like I got as many right as I did for two reasons. I understand the odd mix of narcissism and nationalism that comes from Muammar Qaddafi. I also understand the douchey-ness and lack of understanding of American idioms that comes from Glenn Beck. I have to admit that I haven't been as voracious when consuming Charlie Sheen news, so I don't feel bad about incorrectly identifying his quotes.


That was fun! I'd love to see a quiz comparing crazy shit from other comparably crazy people. Though I can't think of any examples right now...

Light Fare: Fine Ass Hollywood Men

There is a certain type of guy I will always be attracted to: great eyes, facial hair, smile that makes me melt, great hair. Except for the hair, Easy, my boyfriend, fits the bill. He used to have great hair (I had a crush on him when we were teenagers), but now he has a sexy shaved head.

Moving on. I noticed that there are a few guys in Hollywood that I find soooo attractive. They don't all look alike, but they look good in the same way. At least they do in these pictures I found. So without further ado, my facial hair eye candy.

#1 Name: Javier Bardem

Who Is He: He's a Spanish Actor who makes amazing films in Spanish and English. He is with Penelope Cruz and they just had a baby like a month ago, yet they still were up and about during this year's Oscars.

Most Recent Acclaimed Work: The film Biutiful which received an Academy Award nomination.

Why You Might Have Heard of Him: No Country For Old Men, Eat Pray Love

Does He Look Like This All Time? Oh yes. He looks only slightly different when he has his hair hanging over his forehead. But lack of facial changes nothing.

#2 Name: Gerard Butler

Who Is He: Scottish actor/singer. Amazing singing voice. I'd love to see anything with him and the redhead sexyman from Grey's Anatomy acting and singing together. He used be a lawyer, been acting since the mid-90s.

Most Recent Acclaimed Work: It sure as hell ain't The Bounty Hunter. I guess lending his voice to How To Train Your Dragon. And they still love him for 300, even though it's not really recent.

Why You Might Have Heard of Him:  The Ugly Truth, PS I Love You, Law Abiding Citizen, 300

Does He Look Like This All Time? Not really. Sometimes he looks like that guy who plays Ben Affleck's brother in The Town. And him from The Ugly Truth looks nothing like him from 300. Hair length, facial hair, the man has many hot looks to offer.

#3 Name: Russell Crowe

 

Who Is He: Australian actor/musician. Aside from some interesting stories, like about al Qaeda wanting to kidnap him, you should know this dude. Seriously.

 

Most Recent Acclaimed Work: I dunno. Maybe, Robin Hood?
 
Why You Might Have Heard of Him: Cinderella Man, 3:10 to Yuma, A Beautiful Mind 
 
Does He Look Like This All Time? Nope. Just check out his wikipedia page. But he's aging very well. I bet he'll still be hot when he's 65.
 
 

 

 

 

#4 Name: Clive Owen

 

Who Is He: English actor. I think he's the first one so far that I can't remember not using his normal accent in every movie.

 

Most Recent Acclaimed Work: Duplicity and The International

 

Why You Might Have Heard of Him: Children of Men, King Arthur, Inside Man, Derailed, Sin City, Closer, The Rich Man's Wife. Soo many movies.

 

Does He Look Like This All Time? Of course not. I love his facial hair, but he loses his inability to smile in pictures when he has facial hair. But he's good looking from any angle.

 

   

#5 Name: Robert Downey, Jr.

Who Is He: American actor. He's been acting since the 70s. He's good at what he does. He has a tumultuous private life, but who cares, this is about his looks.
 
Most Recent Acclaimed Work: Iron Man 2 and Sherlock Holmes. I refuse to accept that Tropic Thunder might have been critically acclaimed.

 

Why You Might Have Heard of Him: The Pick-Up Artist, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man, Due Date

 

Does He Look Like This All Time? He's been acting for a long time. He certainly wasn't this fine back in those 80s movies... But nah, he looks different depending on hair, glasses, clothes. Only those eyes stay dreamy no matter what.

So what have we learned? I like men with accents. And facial hair, and great eyes. If you didn't make the list, grow your beard. But only if you have the face for it. I know mustaches are out. I don't give a fuck. Yes, I really just said that.

EDIT: I can't believe I orignially forgot Jeffrey Dean Morgan! He played Denny on Grey's Anatomy, and he was sexy sexy Clay in the Losers. That fight he had with Zoey Saldana was by far the sexiest fight I've ever seen in a movie, you ain't got nothing on this Angelina & Brad!

The Dancing With Stars Cast For Winter/Spring 2011

I love Dancing With The Stars. This is Season 12 and I've been watching since... hmmm... I think Season 4 maybe. I did watch part of Season 2 to witness the horrible-ness that was Master P's dancing. No, the first full season I watched was Season 5. That was when Helio Castroneves won. He was so great in that Yellow Banana suit. Sexy man. But I digress.


This is a show I love and will probably blog about throughout the season. I even watched the Bachelor last night to see the cast announcement live. I mean, I had the show on mute while I was on the phone with my boyfriend Easy, but still my eyeballs were on the tv occasionally.


I'm looking forward to this season just like I always have since I began watching the show. I love that you get to see a side of these people that can't be PR'd or engineered. You can pretend for a while but your true colors always come out (I'm looking at you Kate Gosselin). Perfect example, I got to see Bristol Palin. I realize that I actually really like her personality, well about as much as I can like anyone who's just a naturally quiet person. But I also learned that she's self-righteous and kind of a jerk. But she's still a kid, perhaps she'll grow out of it.


But enough waxing about contestants past, it's time to talk about the new contestants! There are 11 of them. Less than the large numbers the cast has had before, but I'm betting that has to do with the number of episodes they're having and maybe a desire to avoid double eliminations. We'll see.


Name: Sugar Ray Leonard, age 54
Why Her/Him?: There's always athlete. Usually football or basketball, I guess they wanted to branch out. Maybe he's taking the Oympic athlete spot that is usually there.
Where You Have Heard Of Them Before: He's the Welterweight Champion of the world. Plus, he's won titles in like five weight classes.
Why I'm Glad He's/She's On The Show: Because they always have a black man who should be able to dance but may or may not have the skills. I'm dying to know if he has the skills.


Name: Chelsea Kane, age 22
Why Her/Him?: This trend of having now-grown-up Disney stars continues. She's cute, freshly sexy, and prolly can dance her ass off. Just like Monique, Sabrina, and Kyle.
Where You Have Heard Of Them Before: Diney Channel, duh.
Why I'm Glad He's/She's On The Show: I'm not. I don't watch Disney that much anymore so I've never heard of or seen this chick before. I guess she's after my time. I'm not old!



Name: Romeo (Miller), age 21
Why Her/Him?: Having a young(ish) non-Disney star is a new trend, but I like it! Plus, he's Master P's (from Season 2) son. This show loves that type of combo. They usually do it with couples, but multiple generations works too.
Where You Have Heard Of Them Before:  He's a rapper. He used to be Lil Romeo. He dropped the "Lil" in a Soldier Boy song from 2009.
Why I'm Glad He's/She's On The Show: He'll make up for the horrible-ness that his father exhibited on the show. And he's about making that money! Why else would he be on DWTS? And how sexy is he? So sexy.


Name: Ralph Macchio, age 49
Why Her/Him?: Because Jennifer Gray was such a hit, they're trying the 80s thing again.
Where You Have Heard Of Them Before: The Karate Kid. Or if you missed the 80s, Hilda's boyfriend on Ugly Betty.
Why I'm Glad He's/She's On The Show: Because they're finally doing his makeup in a way that makes him look attractive, at least so far. And I'm hoping he can really dance.
 


Name: Petra Nemcova, age 31
Why Her/Him?: They usually have a model on the show, working or former. She fits the bill. And if she makes it to the end, she has a great story about a dead fiance.
Where You Have Heard Of Them Before: She's a model. And she did the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimwuit Edition.
Why I'm Glad He's/She's On The Show: I'm not, I've never heard of this chick. I hope she's used her muscles at some point before this show began.


Name: Kendra Wilkinson, age 25
Why Her/Him?: They already had one bunny, why not get another. Pretty soon they'll have all the playboy bunnies who do reality tv. But yeah, she's the token reality star this season. I shouldn't say token, that's rude. Some people wouldn't watch tv without reality shows. DWTS is a reality show. Whatever.
Where You Have Heard Of Them Before: She has a show, Kendra: Bunny Next Door. I think that's what it's called.
Why I'm Glad He's/She's On The Show: That first bunny had so much plastic surgery she couldn't dance (I call it Kim Kardashian syndrome even though she came later). I'm hoping this bunny will break that trend.


Name: Hines Ward, age 34
Why Her/Him?: See, no one seriously thought the stupid Packers were gonna win Super Bowl XLV (45)! But he is the amazing winning football player they usually have. He was even MVP back in '06.
Where You Have Heard Of Them Before: Uh, amazing football player, duh.
Why I'm Glad He's/She's On The Show: So cute. Culturally diverse. Margaret Cho shouldn't be the most diverse person on the show to date (double minority; Asian and gay). This guy is multi-racial. Plus he has a hell of a story to tell about his upbringing if he makes it to the end.


Name: Mike Catherwood, age 31 (but will have birthday during season)
Why Her/Him?:  Um, I don't know. He's a radio star, whatever.
Where You Have Heard Of Them Before: Um... radio... He hosts a show called Loveline. Whatever.
Why I'm Glad He's/She's On The Show: Can you tell I'm not glad? Who is this guy? At least he's attractive.


 
 
 
Name: Wendy Williams, age 46
Why Her/Him?: Folks love her. Her talk show and radio show are super popular
Where You Have Heard Of Them Before: TV, radio, constant appearance's on Daniel Fishels The Dish.
Why I'm Glad He's/She's On The Show: I'm not. I'll be surprised if the drag-queen lookng chick takes this seriosuly or can even dance. How will they design (I said design, not style), her massive weave?


 
 
Name: Chris Jericho (Chrisopher Keith Irvine), age 40
Why Her/Him?: I don't know. I don't remember there being a wrestler and they've already covered sports and reality tv. Maybe they were short on guys.
Where You Have Heard Of Them Before: He's freaking Chris Jericho. Every boy you know probably owns his action figure. Even if you don't like professional wrestling, you should have heard of this guy. Oh maybe that's why they put him on the show.
Why I'm Glad He's/She's On The Show: Cause he's cute and maybe he can dance. Plus, it's kind of like when they had that dude Steve-O from Jackass on the show. He turned out to be really sweet.


Name: Kirstie Alley, age 60
Why Her/Him?:  More 80's love? Plus she used to be a model. Plus she's kind of fat. They always have a bigger woman on the show. Plus she had a reality show. Plus she's kind of old. Lots of good reasons based on the types of cast members they like to have.
Where You Have Heard Of Them Before: Cheers, Playboy Bunny, Jenny Craig commercials.
Why I'm Glad He's/She's On The Show: She will slim down a lot and do like Marie Osmond did, claim the weight loss food is why her body looks so great. Plus, I bet she can dance. And they'll probably make Corky her partner. Love him!


What category did they miss? I don't think they did. Athlete, model, actor, Disney star, music star. Oh I know! They don't have anyone from the media or politics. There's usually one serious person. I guess Petra Nemcova covers that bill. She wasn't even at the announcement because she was off giving a speech at the UN. I guess that means she'll be with Derrick so he can bring out her fun side. If she's with Max or Mark, she'll be too boring.


Be sure to watch on ABC and also vote at abc.com. That is, if you actually care about this, yet another reality tv competition. But this is something that I love. I used to watch the ballroom dancing competitions on WTTW Channel 11 when I was a kid. Seriously, I did that instead of Saturday morning cartoons. So don't judge me.

This Is About Movies That Make It To Theaters And Make Me Happy

I talk a lot about the serious issues in the news and the issues are important. But I also care about less serious issues, and this is one of those issues.


I've been hearing rumors about old folks trekking to the movies in large quantities. Actually it's not rumors. There are undeniable statistics of a 67% rise in baby boomers going to the movies since they started turning 50 in 1995.


This is a subject that interesting to me because I love movies. When I had the money and time, I was at the movies a few times a week. How much did I go to the movies? Let's put it this way, I saw Dark Knight ten times in theaters. Seriously.


But I've always been a fan of most of the trend changes in movies. I loved when IMAX started having versions of movies. There was more to the screen and, sometimes, more to the story being told. I embraced 3D, yeah I'm talking about you Avatar. I think my favorite trend was the epics. It started with epic books (I love you Lord of The Rings!), then it moved to children's books (Chronicles of Narnia helped raise me!). And then the best ever; comic books came to the big screen. It wasn't a new idea, but it was a new iteration.


We've seen Batman as a comedian and ladies man. But we hadn't seen him struggle with his true essence from the comic book: being the other side of the psyche coin that made the Joker who he was. And it wasn't just him. We got real person views of Iron Man, The Hulk, and Wolverine. It was amazing!


But I'm done with my ode to movies. Let's focus on the most recent trend. Movies like RED and The Expendables showed that older people could star in, carry, and contribute to the box office success of real movies with real plots. They provide a whole new type of movie. The story you tell for older people is totally untapped for movies, unless you include the B story in someone else's romantic comedy.


I for one am delighted about the trend. Check out this article for a re-hashing of everything I just said.