So Fresh and So Clean

So, regarding Biden's gaffe(s), blogger E beat me to the inevitable punch. Well, everybody in the universe beat me to the punch. Regardless, it's always interesting to see how missteps like the Obama comment end up getting spun: at first, Biden's people insisted, strangely, that the words speak for themselves, and offered this by way of clarification, which is patently nonsensical. Also, there was some chatter about an excised comma that would have absolved him of sin. But no amount of re-editing changes the fact that Biden is a man who labors under the most antiquated notions of race and society, and as Atrios puts it, "Volumes could be written about all that was wrong with what Biden said about Obama, but I believe we've just witnessed the shortest presidential run in history." Nice. Then news came that Biden said that he was in fact quoted accurately, but we're all apparently too hysterical to see him for the enlightened person that he is.

Most interesting to me, though, is that on tonight's Daily Show, Joe's big and redundant declaration for the presidency was marred by yet further verbal acrobatics/half-hearted mea culpas, when he said that he shouldn't have said "clean" but "fresh." And this all leads me to my point. Is Andre 3000 writing Biden's extemporaneous rants or what? Ain't nobody dope as Barack Obama/He's dressed so fresh and so clean? Don't you think he's so sexy/He's dressed so fresh and so clean?

A Peter Bjorn and John Video I Really Like

There is something in the Scandinavian ice water: Annie, Sally Shapiro, Jose Gonzalez, and the Knife are like fruit Mentos for my ears. Now, add to that group current Pitchfork darlings Peter Bjorn and John, whose very catchy and very cute video is below:

macacophony

lord help us.

i think gawker hates columbia bc they always seem to have an article like that every few days. granted, they've also ragged on yale (and deservedly so).

you know, come to think of it, i knew a guy at columbia who went on welfare for a summer bc he wanted to know what it felt like.

and i also remember unfortunate displays of douchebaggery like this one...

play on, gawker. play on.

cleanliness is godliness

i wrote my friends recently letting them know that the dude whose office is next to mine clips his nails in there with the door open. he often does this during dinner time, which is what anyone would want to hear while eating dinner at her desk. so far, 3 people on separate occasions have commented that they've seen people clipping their nails on the SUBWAY. another friend informed me that she's seen a dude shaving on the subway, which still defies my imagination. of course, i once saw a guy flossing while walking down the street in midtown.

To the shadows...

When I was in high school this guy named Chris Buckley used to pretend like he was a ninja. To this end, randomly in pre-cal, he'd yell out, "To the shadows!" I heard he's an actor now, and was on an episode of Law & Order, but maybe his career didn't take off, and he's resorted to this. My favorite part:

"Richfield Police were called. They searched the neighborhood for the suspect but he managed to slip away into the night in the manner of a ninja."

neo con fashion show

your club is for retards

every once in a while my friend and i will wonder aloud, "how is matthew modine supporting himself?" remember when he was the promising young thing of full metal jacket, then caused us to question our bold proclamations in memphis belle and eventually ended up as "movie within movie actor" on (ick) notting hill?

i was watching welcome to the dollhouse the other night and i became curious about steve rodgers, i.e., the lead singer of the quadratics.

who knew that he had transformed from this become this (pink shirt)?

this is like the time my sister's husband found out tai from clueless was also the girlfriend in 8 mile.

Golden Girls for the Cookie Monster Set

Sometimes when I think of the guy who played Mr. Belvedere I become really sad. When I think of Estelle Getty I become despondent. The two together? I'm inconsolable. But here's one way we can stave off those tears, chums.

Public Service Announcement: Don't Mess With A Bald Eagle!

Check this out:

WTF???

speaking of reunions...

gordo's back!

these are not funny

why?

why??

i dare someone to find one of these that actually makes a thinking human being laugh.

Let the Healing Begin...

Tyler recently brought to my attention the relative merits of Kevin Federline's new commercial. Keeping in the same genre, but kicking it old school, it's worth remembering that before there was K-Fed, there was Vanilla Ice, a man as decried and belittled as any in recent popular culture; no wonder he has this much rage inside of him (Btw, love the Dr. Evit t; also, blogger E, note Janeane Garofalo's frightened presence). Now that we are safely removed from "Ice Ice Baby," Newsweek has decided to turn the keen journalistic eye it refused to focus on Iraq onto Mr. Robert Van Winkle himself, and surprising results emerge. Who knew that Vanilla Ice could be as insightful about his legacy and about the state of white rapperdom as this? Of course, that said, any potentially breathless celebration of the formerly kitsch and currently self-important Mr. Van Winkler should take into account idolator's query: "Does he really think he invented sampling?"

Sony Bravia Commerical

Since I'm on a YouTube kick, I thought I would post Sony's stunning commerical for some sort of televisual device. This version features the original version of the The Knife's "Heartbeats," not the Jose Gonzalez cover that (I believe) the original commercial uses. On a sidenote, it's nice to see the company that invented the Walkman finally get its head out of its ass, but too little too late?

Thanks to Natalie for this find...

Ben Stiller

It is indeed true that Ben Stiller has managed to carve out a nice little career for himself, but no matter what he does hence, in my eyes he will always be the creepy dude in Your Friends & Neighbors. That or Tom Krooze.

test of time?

i don't know how to create links or anything fancy, so someone is going to have to teach me one of these days. over dinner last night, a couple of friends and i talked about movies that have "stood the test of time." clueless was the first nominee (so you can tell this was a serious discussion). then my friend tried to suggest that reality bites qualified as well. we couldn't agree on that, but we all agreed that winona ryder, janeane garofalo and ethan hawke were all "so 90s." and we all expressed our disbelief that out of everyone in that movie, ben stiller has had the most prolific career.

also, what happened to steve zahn?

The Beginning

Just the other day I was reading a Defamer post on Aaron Sorkin--cokehead, savant, neo-Mamet, creator of Studio 60 --and had to lament the sad fate God has writ for all my erstwhile artistic heroes (I'm talking to you, Mos). His show, what with its self-important storylines and ho-hum bits of sketch comedy, has given rise to a good deal of schadenfreude in the blogosphere, and the gossip mills spilleth over with news of its imminent demise. The show is certainly flawed and undoubtedly self-indulgent, but I am willing to give it a little bit more credit than most; it at least attempts to take on our country's culture wars, and as far as central conceits go, that one's better than most on TV. Regardless, in the face of such blogotastic derision, Sorkin had this to say of the blogging profession/habit: "An enormous rise in amateurism...Everyone's voice oughtn't be equal."

Oh, I love me some crass elitism and bullshit posturing, and have decided to read Sorkin's words as a call to arms. So--years after the shark has been jumped--I too have decided to join the blogofray. I want to contribute to our society's decline and make my amateurish mark felt, and I hope my stable of guest bloggers--along with Sorkin, co-inspirators in this venture--feel the same way. Thus, this blog, which will be a sporadically updated piece of interweb detritus--as far as low-thresh-hold promises go let's hope that one proves slightly less hollow than some others I've made to myself (read Gravity's Rainbow, go to the gym everyday, etc.).

A word on the nature of the blog: It will aim for Zizek, but will probably strike closer to Pat O'Brien. Enjoy...