The Bachelorette

Ok, first I can't believe I'm watching the damn show again, in the first place.
Second I can't believe I'm making comments on it.
Actually I'm too lazy to go through the sign up on the ABC TV Message
Board and I have to vent somewhere.
So...here we go!
This show stinks! For those of who you who have a life...the girl who is
the Bachelorette is a nice girl with a nice body, not that pretty...and
clearly a little insecure.
I mention that because she requires that each of the guy's fall in love
with her and tell her numerous times!And we have to hear about it
over and over and she and the guys have to articulate the same
bull ten times an hour! Boring!
At the end, she lets the really cool guy go and picks another one...
a guy who is handsome and really crazy about her.
Plus the poor guy had to undergo the incredible indignity of
not being able to "perform" on their first "sleepover!"Aand
all of America knowing it! But the second time he could...thank god.
But...he is an "8"...and the other guy was a "10!"
She however is an "8" as well and like feels comfortable with like.
She mentioned numerous times that the first guy had always been the
"dumper" not the "dumpee"...and she obviously was scared to pick him.
This particular season, has been filled with 'dramatic' surprises etc etc .
and clearly is fixed. Drawn out for ratings and our emotional rollercoaster
ride is now over.
I dont want to hear the word "journey" and people spilling their feelings
to total strangers ever again!
I hope I never watch this show again. But...I can't promise.

Michael Jackson Memorial

Of course I watched it, along with zillions of others around the world and I'm so happy
to report that it was a beautiful,tasteful and appropriate event.
In spite of the insanity of the press coverage, the family pulled off a classy affair and
it was very sad to see the beautiful children mourning. It was interesting for me to
see the family...all those brothers united in uniform and feeling and the closeness which
makes me realize it's no fun being an only child, inspite of the fractious moments a
large family goes through.
Brooke Shields was especially meaningful in humanizing Michael...as they were two
little kids thrust into the spotlight. And she remains one of the most gorgeous women.
The songs, the film clips, the speeches..except for Al Sharpton, but what else is new...
all were lovely memories and uplifting.
Good job Jackson Family. Goodbye Michael.

Gov. Palin

Newsflash: I just saw Sarah Palin morph into Irwin Corey! Remember him? the old
guy who talks double talk? Huh? What?
I think she just resigned because..? something about fish floating.
She totally rambled and was incredibly wierd. But then I always
thought she was a joke.
Maybe now she'll just go away. But on the other hand, as a Democrat...

On Michael Jackson

ENOUGH ALREADY!!!
What is wrong with us that we have given his passing
more press than JFK's?
Great performer, possible pedophile, definitely disturbed...ok. I got it.
Stop printing, broadcasting, talking about him.
There is a very difficult world out there and it has kept going and
we should be paying more attention!
Enough!

Memo to S. Carolina Governor

SHUT UP!!!

Do Cry For Me, Argentina!

I just watched the most bizarre performance and I mean peformance by the Gov.
of S. Carolina admitting that instead of hiking he was "f---ing!"
Huh? Wierd.
I am not suprised by infidelity. I am not surprised by politicians admitting
to it, but what was that?
This guy was obviously having a meltdown, starting with not taking the money
due his state from the Federal Govt.
And then, he makes up a cockamamie...excuse the expression...story about
going to the Appalachian's to clear his head when he went to Argentina to clear
his pipes.
All the tearing up and the quoting Godliness was such a case in hypocrisy and I
would have respected him more..well, not really, but I would have been happier
seeing a statement read by him that stated the facts, a resignation from office and
back to the family to work things out however they chose to.
What was this mea culpa camera show? As we used to say in high school...
TMI!! TOO MUCH INFORMATION. I DONT WANT THE GORY DETAILS.
I think we've all become too much involved with each other's lives on TV.
Get off the stage Gov. And Jon and Kate too! As for Perez Hilton...well...
he deserved a sock in the eye. A bully got bullied.
Let's pay attention to worthwhile things for a while, shall we?

D-I-V-O-R-C-E

I know it's only a reality show...but the impending divorce of Kate and Jon.. (of
Jon and Kate Plus 8)really saddens me. It's amazing how attached one gets to
"characters" in a TV show. I think it was the kids that got to me. I'd grown to adore
this family and though Kate was always a nag, she is inherently smart and a
good mother and I think very honest in assessment of what went wrong and
her mea culpa. Jon, is ...sadly...like a lot of guys, not a good communicator and
makes it hard to see what he is feeling. I think he was just too immature to
have all this fame and responsibility. But I know they love the kids and frankly the
money they earned from the show will give them a good future...if not as happy
a one as they had hoped. It feels like it happened to someone I know! Faux
intimacy perhaps, but maybe not.

Ok, I'll admit it...

Though it's really so unimportant it barely matters, I will
always acknowledge an error when I make one!
A few posts ago I ragged on "I''m a Celebrity, get me out of Here!"
It is a fairly inane reality show which strands C listers in the
jungle.
Well, I've been sick a few days and though I have great books
to read, I've taken the easy way out and just zoned out on TV.
This show is on every night..that's another discussion as to why...
but I've watched a little more and now that the obnoxious
couple (you know who and like Valdermort I will not speak their
evil names to give them life)...now that they are gone, the
remaining players are bonding as they go through these really
awful adventures replete with bugs and other creatures.
And what I do like...a saving grace...is how they bond!
They are really opening up to each other and developing
real feelings...I know it sounds impossible, but think of yourself
in camp.
Or if you've traveled on a group tour, by the end you are weeping
and swearing to be best friends forever. Sometimes you even
follow up and become so.
Relationships are the most important things in life and I like
seeing them develop and maybe it's because I value my own
friends so much, or because I was an only child, that it's
cool to see others engaged with each other.
Or maybe I'm just sick of being sick and need a drink!
Or a hug!!!

brief dating hint

If you are on an Internet dating site and you are a guy...do not pick a
name that ends in "ster"...like "robster", "rickster"...you get the idea.
One has to imagine you calling yourself in the third person "The
Old Tedster"...no!
Do not go there.
Promise me.

No...get ME out of there!!

There is a reality or should I say "fakeality" show on TV tonight called
"I'm a Celebrity, get me out of here." I am going to perform magic
and review the show without seeing it!
I cannot watch this drivel. I, who watch everything reality from
Jon and Kate to The Dog...and vote on most shows where our vote
makes a difference...I will not and cannot watch that show.
Even I have my limits! And besides, The Bachelorette is on at the
same time.
The premise is they leave D list celebs or celeb-think- they-ares in some
South American jungle and watch them fall apart.
The long haired awful singer kid from Idol, the old former Supermodel
who is virtually make of plastic now, and the obnoxious couple of
some other quasi-reality who have really gotten on people's nerves are
among the cast.
And...wait for it...you will not believe it, or maybe you will, the wife of the
indicted Governor from a Mid West State...(I'm not giving these people
any name recognition as my own little rebellion) ...she who is known
for having a foul mouth and putting up with his hair...is taking his
place since the Court wouldn't allow him to go.
Please people...do not watch this junk. Perhaps the jungle will
take it's justice and give them all diseases which are not easily
gotten over.
The "hook" this year is that the watching public can "vote them plagues"
of various sorts, but even that is not intruiging enough to me.
And as for the Governor's wife stooping to doing this garbage,
well if you are still married to him, your judgement is highly
suspect anyway, isn't it?
The only saving grace and I mean the only...is that Paris Hilton
is not among 'em.
I guess we can be thankful for small favors.

Bye bye Jay...

To continue the comments on the inconsequential news of the day...did anyone else
cringe at the final Jay Leno Tonight Show with guest, new host, Conan O' boy- is -he- not- funny?
I happen to really like Jay and felt he was so uncomfortable about having to give up
his seat before he was ready!
And Conan, who has never made me laugh, was rather arrogant about claiming it.
They did the obligatory praise of each other but neither was sincere and if Conan
shakes his unruly red mop one more time in that tic of his, well...I dont' plan on watching
him anyway. A lucky guy...to say the least.
Jay will do just fine in the earlier slot and Jimmy Kimmel is funnier than all of them.

Jon &Kate plus 8 and me

The newest tabloid story bombarding us is the marriage of the couple on
the reality show," Jon and Kate Plus 8." They have a set of lovely girl twins
and then had sextuplets...three of each gender.
I had not watched the show or known anything about them until
the rumors of infidelity etc. came on everywhere it seemed.
So on Saturday, after I did my sun on the terrace and my walk
around the resevoir, I collapsed into bed and turned on what
turned out to be a marathon of the series documenting this
incredible family. I was addicted, although it doesn't take much.
What a great show! What an adorable well behaved family. And they
dont even have full time help. Just some volunteer friends.
It is amazing to watch the constant motion and noise of eight kids
and also to see each of their little personalities growing.
They are quite a handful of course. But Kate and Jon have
it down to a science.
So I got this megadose of them and now I see how the dynamic
of their marriage deconstructed.
She nags him. All the time. She treats him as one of the kids.
He sort of stoicly takes it, but perhaps this is why he strayed....
if he did actually stray.
He's a good father and pitches in as well as having a full time job.
She has got to lighten up on him!
I want this family to stay together. I want this
marriage to work.
So Kate, you are a fabulous mother and someone I'd like to
be friends with...good sense of humor, smart and organized.
But you have got to start cutting Jon some slack!
You have an extraordinarily hectic life and it would take its
toll on any marriage, but honey...you are making it really
tough.
Monday is the premier of the new season in which they promise
to deal with the reality of the relationship. Even if it means
stopping the series to get your marriage back...do it.
This family must be saved!

NOT ME!!

There was a letter in the NY Post on Tuesday castigating Farah Fawcett for her documentary.
It was signed, Susan M. Silver! That's not me!! I am Susan A.,..but I don't use my
middle name.
Some wierd guy called me this morning to tell me he "agreed with me."
I told him I am totally one hundred per cent opposite in my opinion..(read
blog of last week.)
I wish I could write the Post to tell them to say it's another Susan Silver...
but..I'm sure they don't care.
Thank god she didn't write about loving Dick Cheney or being for torture!

We wuz robbed...twice!!

Ok, in the big picture it' s not important...at all! But we were robbed
twice last week.
By "we," I mean sicko TV watchers like me who vote for reality shows!
Adam was the person who should have won American Idol...come on!
He is a true superstar. Whether he didn't get it because he is gay or
too goth, I don't know. But this kid Kris, is a nice, average singer.
No star. No Idol.
And as for Shawn the little Olympian who won Dancing with the Stars...
no! Yes she did a nice job, yes she's an American Hero, but
as for a dancer, she can't hold a candle or a leg for that matter to
Giles who performed almost as a professional, and a real star, or Melissa
who was the epitome of an elegant dancer.
So, are they rigged? Or are most people who vote dumb...or judging
on things other than what matters?
I don't know, but it's enough to make me turn the TV off and start
reading all those books I have. Hmm...maybe it was a good thing
after all.

Farrah's Finale

I dont know if you all saw the extraordinary documentary of Farrah Fawcett's fight to survive
cancer. It was very raw, very real, with no vanity or gloss to it.
She is a brave and lovely person, clearly. ( At the beginning of her career,
she did a small part in a Movie of the Week I wrote but I don't remember meeting her.)
This was hard to watch.
I've had a friend who went through the rigors of chemo and everything else and
it's not a pretty picture. But I never saw the process up close.
It was important for people to see exactly what it's like and I don't remember
ever seeing it portrayed quite this blatantly, this honestly.
It makes one wonder what decision you would make. To continue the fight,
or just go...as she said she refused to...gently into that good night.
I think I'd just take all my money and hire a plane and get my friends to go
traveling until I couldnt' anymore.
But I don't have children or a partner as she does.
Whichever way, she has done a service to us all and the fight against cancer.
I wish her peace and no more pain.

Elizabeth Edwards Part 2

Last night Charlie Rose interviewed Elizabeth Edwards in what had to be her
umpteenth time trying to explain how she felt about "the Affair"...and more.
I realized as I listened to her, how much I always liked her and still do. Her
honesty, her humor were well displayed.
Her motivations for why she wrote the book still aren't clear to me. But
Charlie did make a statement that perhaps is the most to the point...and
adult one I've heard.
Why is the "sexual" such a big deal?
After all, the stats on cheating are overwhelming. And as they said, a
good looking, powerful guy has so much opportunity.
She was unrealistic to think it couldn't happen.
But the bottom line, America is a bit too puritanical and all over the rest of
the world and in certain cultures particularly, it matters not at all.
So I believe she was terribly wounded. I believe she made the right private
choice to remain married after all the good times and years put in.
Yet, I still am not so sure a book that drags it up all over again and drags him
through the muck was such a good idea.
But there is one thing I am sure of now. She is probably a lot more pissed off that
even she realized.

Elizabeth Edwards and the elephant...

I feel for Elizabeth Edwards. She has suffered a lot in her life and done so with
elegance and strength. But now, I fear that she has made a large mistake.
Rather than living what is left of her life without the prying eye of the press or
others, she has written a book which only can dredge up the muck.
In her interview with Oprah which was cringe worthy both for her and John
(who looked like a little boy taken to the principal's office...and Oprah can be
a tough principal, hand on his shoulder not withstanding )...she avoided the
elephant in the room!
Why on earth, when you find out that your husband who is purporting to be
squeaky clean in a marriage that is enviable...is cheating...do you continue
the race for the highest office in the world?
As a Democrat I am appalled. He could have been the nominee and this
would have been the end of everything that everyone had worked so hard
to achieve.
Pure selfish ego.
And she was complicit in the continuing of the charade.
Further, to insist that if the baby is his, it has no relevance to her life is
crazy! Denial to some extreme that defies reality.
Now, is this his continuing punishment or that knawing need for face time
on camera that many in the public eye seem to need so desperately?
What is the point of bringing it all up again? How much do we as a society need
to be involved with the intimacy of everyone's life?
Reality TV to the max. Next episode: the DNA test for the baby.
Tune in for more shocking revelations. Sigh....

This drives me crazy!

Among many many things...this drives me crazy! You run into a guy you once went out with
and not only does he NOT remember you, he tries to pick you up again!
This has happened to me a few times (once with a guy I actually spent a weekend with...horrible though it was ) and most recently the other night.
I was at a club and a young guy whom I had met once there a few years ago, and gone out with
against my better judgment...and boy was I right...hit on me again, having no idea that
he knew me.
I debated about reminding him, and then I decided not to.
I am not unmemorable. Trust me, I'm not.
Guys tend to be unconscious I guess and in this case, very!
Guys...look at the girl you are trying to pick up and think: Did I do this before? If so, how did it
turn out. Oh...best to move on!

I finally did it!

No no, not sex! I wouldn't tell you if I did.
What I did was something to get the juices flowing. Now stop it...I told you
no sex was involved!
What I did was take a two day seminar in branding and publishing.
I really needed to stir things up and get off my duff and it worked.
The bad news is that I found out it's time to give up on an old idea I've
been doodling with forever and come up with something new. And
I did have a few good new ideas that I now have to pursue.
It's great to be with other people...the group was composed of a lot of
very bright and interesting people at various stages of careers hoping to
get that big break...mostly a hot book.
The Leaders were good in dispensing a lot of info, but I get the feeling
they weren't all that crazy with my little murmurings which amused those
sitting around me. And mostly I do it to amuse myself .
Old comedy writers never stop being funny when they have a chance.
So the bottom line is, stimulation is important. Hey!! Cut it out! I told you....
no sexual references intended! You should be ashamed of yourselves!

Susan Boyle

I am just one of millions who have fallen for the British singing sensation Susan Boyle.
When I was sent the Youtube video I actually cried as I watched her sing! They are
making a lot of the fact of her looks..."you can't judge a book by it's cover" etc.
That is fine.
But one humor columnist who shall be nameless has gone way over the line as I see it.
He called her "ugly." First of all, how rude!
Second of all, it is the pot calling the kettle...ugly.
This guy who is brilliant and funny is, to put it kindly....one of the least attractive human
beings on this or any other planet!
He is the last person who should be judging others on looks.
And, though it is obvious that she not a beauty queen, there is or should be a limit
to negative name calling, even in satire.
She is a lovely, "cheeky" as Simon put it, enormously courageous and very talented
woman.
I could listen to her voice all day.
And as for "ugly"....his comment is the only ugly thing I see!
Facially challenged Comic... heal thyself!