We’ve always had a thing for Kate Bosworth. Who doesn’t?
He she’s interviewed by Hugo Boss TV at their fashion show for Spring/Summer 2013 in Berlin.
Month: July 2012 (Page 12 of 15)
A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to chat with Drew Carey in conjunction with the upcoming DVD release of PBS’s “American Masters: Johnny Carson,” for which Carey was interviewed, and at some point in the conversation, we got to talking about the phenomenon of summer replacement series. In a world where cheesy, cheap-to-produce reality shows tend to fill the programming void while your favorite shows take their annual summer hiatus, we sometimes forget that there used to be a wealth of cheesy, cheap-to-produce variety shows.
Okay, so maybe they weren’t significantly more substantive in the long run, but here it is almost 40 years since the glory days of these programs – I speak of the ‘70s, of course – and they’re still remembered at least semi-fondly by those of us who lived through the era. Here’s a look back at some of the series that kept us relatively entertained during June, July, and August when I was a kid…
1. Make Your Own Kind of Music (NBC, 1971): Riding high on the soft-pop success of singles like “Close To You” and “We’ve Only Just Begun,” brother-and-sister duo The Carpenters were given their own variety show in the summer of ’71, although it’s one that occasionally slips under the radar for fans of the group due to the fact that their name wasn’t actually in the title. It’s also the sort of program that further cements the Carpenters’ reputation as being less than hip, what with guests like the Doodletown Pipers and Al Hirt, but let’s just remember that, in 2012, a heck of a lot more people still listen to the Carpenters than the Doodletown Pipers. All told, I think it’s fair to say that Karen and Richard had the last laugh.
2. The Helen Reddy Show (NBC, 1973): Yeah, yeah, she was woman, we heard her roar…but that’s really about all most people remember about Helen Reddy’s musical career anymore, though. (I’d almost forgotten about “Delta Dawn” ’til I started writing this piece, and I still can’t place “Angie Baby,” even though it was apparently also a #1 hit for her.) Nowadays, you’re more likely to have people think back to her gig as a very special guest star on “The Muppet Show,” or maybe her occasional stints as an actress, as seen in such ’70s classics as “Airport ’75” and “Pete’s Dragon.” Oh, right, and that really was her saying “Helen Reddy, standing by” in that episode of “Family Guy.” But in ’73, Reddy got a boost in profile from Flip Wilson, who apparently had a hand in selecting her to serve as the summer replacement for his variety series.
3. The Bobby Darin Amusement Company (NBC, 1973): By the end of 1973, crooner Bobby Darin would be dead, his perpetually poor health finally getting the best of him (he died from complications during heart surgery), but in his final year, he took to the small screen for a summer variety series that continued to prove his versatility as a interpreter of popular song.
It’s Not You, It’s… You.
By John Lavallo
“C’mon, really — a Post-It note?!?”
For those of you trapped on a cable TV-less island back in 2003, what I’m referring to is the “Sex & the City” episode where Jack Berger dumps poor Carrie Bradshaw via a little yellow sticky paper. Now, I’ve heard of goodbye letters. Hell, I once heard about a guy who dumped a girl during sex. But does it get any less personal than using stationery manufactured by 3M for your break-up note?
Well, in Facebook-relationship-status parlance, it’s complicated.
Welcome to the social media generation, where “Crazy in Love” becomes “Hit The Road, Jack” in the blink of a (eye)phone. [Note: Isn’t it amazing that barely 100 words into this piece, we’ve already referenced a dumping Jack and a dumped Jack? And you thought nearly a billion Facebook members was an impressive feat?].
You see, just when you relegated status updates to telling the world how that latte you just consumed spared you from the fire of eternal damnation (‘OMG, a venti skinny vanilla just saved my life!’), with the advent of social media, your relationship status is now a neon-flashing billboard for the world to see — or at least that part of the world in your circle of friends online. People all over the globe are literally breaking up with a significant other simply by changing their Facebook status from “in a relationship” to “single,” with no further explanation necessary to the poor ex who now suffers the dual humiliation of getting dumped both electronically and publicly.
Doesn’t sound like a big deal, right? I mean, a break-up is a break-up; you deal with it. Well, picture this: Cindy is floating along through her day, content in the fact that Tommy’s heart, mind and Facebook picture albums belong to her and her alone. Cindy logs into Facebook just so she can see, for the hundredth time, that picture of the two of them giggling and cooing in an oversized furry armchair. She casually glances at Tommy’s profile information, as she always gets a kick out of seeing that he’s “in a relationship” with her, and [insert sound of Mack truck crashing into the side of her head] – what the what? – Tommy is “single”?!? Cindy is perplexed. “How, how can this be?,” she wonders, as the adrenaline marches through her chest like an over-caffeinated explorer. “Aha, someone hacked his account!” She picks up the phone to let him know, but it goes to voice mail. She texts, but no reply.
Back to Facebook she goes, to post a message to her beloved’s Wall that some insensitive maniac confiscated his password and is spreading lies, lies, lies. A few minutes later, as Cindy checks back, she sees a whole bunch of comments posted such as “Way to go, Tom!,” “I never liked her,” “Finally, man!,” and worst of all, from Tommy himself: “Yeah, tough call but it’s all good”. Well, it’s great that Tommy seemed to deliberate so long and hard about his big decision but — hey, Lebron– how about giving Cleveland Cindy a little warning before leaving or, heaven forbid, actually doing the deed personally before taking your talents to Facebook? To be fair, one has to admire the brusque, in-your-face, social media gen attitude of “I’m doing what I want and I’m letting you know in real time.” And although one simple click makes you an instant published author of heartbreak, it begs the question: Is it really easier to break up digitally?
Julia Stiles stars as the title character in “Blue,” a new web series produced by the YouTube channel Wigs, which is described as “a digital channel producing high-end, original, scripted dramatic series and short films about the lives of women.” “Blue” certainly fits this bill, as it has high, network-standard production values and explores the life of Francine, aka Blue (Stiles), a single mother who works in an office and moonlights as a prostitute. We are introduced to her in the middle of serving a client, Cooper (David Harbour), who turns out to be an old acquaintance from high school. Cooper has more than a simple professional interest in her, and there is speculation that he might be the father of her 13-year-old son, Josh (Uriah Shelton).
Josh is a precocious, A-student who is beginning to be curious about sex and who is too smart not to know that his mother is hiding something about herself from him, though he is not yet sure what. He befriends Cooper, seeming to need a father figure in his life to complement the good relationships he has with his mother and his grandmother, Jessica (Kathleen Quinlan), a sexy older woman prone to over-sharing about her love life. Meanwhile, beginning in the third episode, Blue has an oddly mentor-like relationship with her office co-worker, Lavinia (Sarah Paulson), who looks up to her, thinking Blue really has her life together. Lavinia seeks Blue’s advice about her relationship with her ex-husband, Walter (so far unseen), who seems to be using her for financial support due to his ailing health.
The series is created, written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia, who is known for his work on feature films like “Mother and Child” and last year’s “Albert Nobbs,” as well as television series such as HBO’s “The Sopranos” and “Six Feet Under,” the latter of which has a similarly soap opera feel to it. The first season runs 12 episodes, each around eight minutes long, which means the entire first season is roughly the length of a relatively short feature film, and each episode is basically a single long scene, or two shorter, connected ones. Some of these work better than others; while Blue and Josh have great chemistry and really good dialogue in the second episode, and a subplot involving Josh’s troubles at school in the tenth and eleventh episodes is especially interesting, I have to admit I have very little interest in the relationship between Blue and Lavinia. Paulson is a very good actor, but her character is sort of weak and whiny, and it remains to be seen if her subplot will garner more interest. On the other hand, the first season ends with an intriguing development involving an older man from Blue’s past, and fans of soapy drama will definitely want to tune in for new episodes once they become available.
Hopefully you have some great plans for today’s holiday with friends and family. We’d like to offer up a suggestion from our friends at Hornitos Premium Tequila for some refreshing drinks to add to your cookout or gathering. These Stars and Stripes cocktails were created by mixologist Laura Cruz from New York.
Stars:
1.5 parts Hornitos® Anejo Tequila
½ part Agave Nectar
½ part Lime Juice
6-8 BlueberriesDirections:
Muddle blueberries and lime juice in a glass. Add tequila and agave nectar. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into shot glass.Stripes:
2 parts Hornitos® Reposado Tequila
1.5 parts Bloody Mary Mix
½ part lime juiceDirections:
Shake and serve in shot glass half rimmed with a salt, pepper and cayenne mixture.
As you can see from the photo above, the drinks can look very cool and would be a great edition to your holiday festivities. Now be careful with those fireworks . . .
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