For the eight of you who look at this blog with any sort of regularity, as well as those of you who have stopped by more than once, lured in by one post headline or another, you should be able to tell something bout it. There is not a whole lot of pandering going on where Miscellany Buffet is concerned. It doesn’t cover every hot topic, or even one per day or week, in hopes of funneling in visitors. That having been said, there are certain stories that refuse to be ignored. There are topics that walk in, plop down on the couch, cross their legs, look at you and say, “Well?” in a way that lets you know they’re not going anywhere. These kinds of stories beg for comment.
Charlie Sheen is on my couch.
There is no need to rehash the media blitz that Sheen has launched as of late. If any of you has been trapped on a desert island (or have AT&T and just cannot get a signal) the last couple of weeks, now that your back, look around and you’ll be able to catch up rather quickly on the goings on surrounding the star of such block busters as Platoon, Wall Street, and Men at Work.
Suffice to say that our boy Charlie is having some issues. His cheese no longer seems to be centered on his cracker. His choo-choo seems to be chugging off around the bend. His dice no longer seem to have the right amount of dots.
Kate Gosslin going for the Farrah Faucett look...or rather, the corpse-of-Farrah Faucett look.
Kate Gosselin is involved in talks to have a dating show (similar to the popular “Bachelorette” show) on ABC.
How? Why?
What man in his right mind would want to date this woman after her daily verbal abuse of her ex-spouse (Jon) was chronicled so publicly on her last show, “Jon & Kate Plus Eight”? I mean, how many of us guys would have killed for a warning about how some woman would behave after the “honeymoon” period ends? There are 116 episodes of proof that dating her is a bad, bad thing. (more…)
Glenn Beck is one of the most polarizing TV personalities these days. He has surpassed Rush and Bill O’Reilly at the top of the conservative food chain and he is super popular with the those on the right. He gets a lot of negative press, too, mostly from those on the left.
Here’s a little truth about Glen Beck, opinions aside.
Beck is a Mormon, though not an actively practicing one.
Beck is a high school graduate who took one course (“Early Christology”) at Yale, then dropped out.
Beck is a former alcohol and drug addict in recovery.
Beck has been a professional entertainer for most of his adult life. He even had a cameo on Cheers in 1990.
Beck used to be a morning “shock-jock” (a decidedly “non-conservative” job), as seen here:
On the other hand, here are some things that are common misconceptions about Beck:
“Beck is a moron!” On the contrary – Beck is very intelligent. He has parlayed the existence of Fox News and the popularity of political commentary shows into a very impressive career.
“Beck is a fascist!” Again, no. Beck, according to his own description, is not even all that conservative. Beck has referred to himself as a “Conservative with liberal leanings”. The idea that his books and TV persona make him look so radically right is more evidence of his intellect. He’s playing to the audience. Although, with this book cover, it’s easy to see why people might get the wrong idea…
“Beck is mentally ill!” This is usually said in reference to the frequent crying jags on his show. While only those closest to him really know if he actually suffers from any true depression or psychosis, the much more likely explanation is that the crying is his “hook”, as it were. Rush uses attempts at comedy, O’Reilly uses his “forceful” interview methods, Beck has his emotional moments.
The most important thing to remember if you watch “The Glenn Beck Program” is that you cannot believe everything you hear just because someone on TV says it. If you disagree with Beck (or if you agree with him), look up the facts behind what he says and be sure you have them all. Also, remember that no matter who the talking head is, one of the easiest ways to get a way with lies on TV is not by actively lying, but by passive lies, or lies of omission. Many times it is what is left out that matters most.
If you watched any of the Olympics on NBC then you had to have caught at least one spot for the new Seinfeld produced reality show “The Marriage Ref”. The show features host Tom Papa who helps present some arguments between real married couples to a panel of celebrity judges. After hearing the ins and outs of the riffs, each panelist makes a recommendation to Papa as to how to rule and then he does a video chat with the couple to announce his decision.
When I first heard of the concept, my first thought was that this had some serious potential. I’m married, and the idea of having a “judge” to rule on arguments appealed to me because, well, I’m pretty sure than I’m always right (wink-wink). Add in the idea that Jerry Seinfeld is involved and there was good reason to believe it could be a winner.
Although I’m not willing to write if off just yet, the pilot episode was pretty lame. (more…)
