The Wordmistress

Snap Crackle Pop Culture

After a protracted absence, my favorite pop culture blog has returned with a brand new look! Go check out Pop Culture Junk Mail when you get a chance. Gael Cooper is such a clever writer and I marvel at how familar I am with the obscure nostalgia she manages to drum up. She is a way cool chick; you will not be disappointed.

While I was getting my pop culture fix, I was reminded of a little Web odyssey I took a few weeks ago when Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan) died. As a tot, I was a big fan of the Cap's shenanigans and dug his loony, but tame cast of characters. I was especially enthralled by a cartoon character that was presented in very strange animation, only appeared a few times and no one ever seemed to remember. Well, when the good ol' Captain kicked, I made it my business to find out who this fine fellow was.

He was not Tom Terrific. Oh, I remember Tom and Tom was, well, terrific. But though Tom was drawn in distinctive, hand-drawn animation, this guy was drawn in an even stranger way. After hitting the Web hard, I ascertained that he was Fred (scroll down on the page), an Aniforms character that only appeared on the show a few times. Aniforms was an early TV animation process that was really very cool, enjoyed a brief popularity and then blew out of fashion as quickly as Joyce DeWitt. If the Web was worth anything, I'd be able to see a picture or video of dear Fred, wouldn't I? But this was not meant to be. There is a dearth of information out there on Aniforms, Fred and all his weird and defunct Aniform pals.

Anyhoo, go check out Pop Culture Junk Mail. Or find out more about Fred for me. It's a poppy pop pop pop world tonight, I've decided.

Knee Jerks

Fools.

Now That's Nasty, I Mean Pasty, Miz Jackson

I've gotten some feedback regarding my last post. Some bloggers have directed me to downloads of the incident in question and Jake (is that my friend Jake?) pointed me to a Drudge Report article about how this was just so much pre-planned publicity. After seeing the video last night, I had to concur. No one wears a star-shaped pasty under their costume unless they intend to show their breast at some point. Us full-figured gals prefer smiley faces if no one is looking.

Waiter, There's a Blonde in My Bowl

Why is Courtney Thorne-Smith on the cover of my cereal box? You probably remember her as the stupid-as-mud Alison on Melrose Place or is it possible you watch the Jim Belushi vehicle, something something Jim? But I remember her from this sitcom a long time ago with fellow hyphenate, Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Day By Day was an oddly addictive sitcom, self-consciously bad in the Saved by the Bell vein. Didn't like her then, later and especially now.

No offense.

Fangirl

Deep down inside I am a big fan of celebrities. And that is why I love the Golden Globes. Why am I talking about this on Tuesday when the show was on Sunday night? Because I really only had a chance to watch it today, having missed a lot of it on Sunday night. Here's my two cents.

Angels in America. Great movie, great cast. It definitely was a tour de force. As Roy Cohn, Al Pacino did his finest work since Michael Corleone. I'm so sorry to say that Pacino's acting has become almost intolerably one-note since The Godfather days, it's like he got caught in the And Justice For All speech and could not get out. But everyone not only did a splendid, wrenching job, they really seemed to enjoy the work. There was a meta-awareness of the play as it was being performed which made it feel very intimate and very real. It was great. I could survive on HBO alone.

Also, I think Meryl Streep is lovely. She is so poised and funny and clever and just so all right with me.

Here are some other famous folks I wouldn't mind meeting: Jack Black and his gal pal and funny comic Laura Kightlinger; Johnny Depp whose film like all of his films I thought was rolicking good fun and who I will always think is a way hot mega babe; Bill Murray who is so cool and funny and humble; and Robin Williams.

As fate would have it, I happened to attend another tribute to Michael Douglas a few years back when he was similarly honored by the Chicago International Film Festival here in Chicago. He was then dating newsperson Elizabeth Vargas, and was toasted by Jeanne Tripplehorn and Kathleen Turner among others. I think his buddy Saul Zaentz was there as well. Jeanne Tripplehorn cried her eyes out for some insane reason. Maybe she was drunk. It was a work thing for me.

I love the Golden Globes, everyone seems very natural. There are no Bruce Vilanchisms wasting time, just TV and movies together. And me in my kerchief and Mia in her cap ...

Suess Must Be Rolling Over

When Mia was a wee tyke, I bought her a Cat in the Hat stuffed animal and she loved it. I think she loved it cuz it was a cat. In a hat. See, we've got cats (Irving and Nellie). And this one was wearing a hat. It was literally the first thing she ever laughed at. She's slept with the Cat in the Hat ever since. So it would make sense to make her first birthday party, a Cat in the Hat party. But I simply cannot jump on the Mike Meyers advertising train. I don't think I've ever seen a movie cross-promoted so much. Every commercial that comes on is tied into the movie. The thought of those promotional plates and cups on our dining room table just made me queasy. They did make it into my shopping cart, but I had to remove them. Mommy don't go there. Yes, I do buy into the machine. I am a slave to pop culture. I bought one of Eminem's albums. I subscribe to People magazine. Occasionally, I even toil in the evils of advertising, for goodness' sake! But a person must draw the line somewhere. For me to consciously sully the good name of Theodore Geisel, it just don't feel right.

So we will put the Cat in the Hat to bed every night. And say goodnight to Irving and Nellie (the real cats). And read the book. Heck, we'll even see the movie. But we will not buy the keychains, the lawnchairs, the lip gloss ...

Warning: These Images May Appear Distorted

A lot of recent TV watching has inspired a new celebicrush: Donal Logue. Lately, I've been watching the addictive I Love the 80's Strikes Back on VH-1 and my favorite commentator is Donal. He gets in these amazingly animated riffs about ridiculous nostalgia. I want to give him a hug. I first saw him in the Tao of Steve, which is a great movie that I believe he also wrote. He's been playing Susan's boyfriend on ER lately. But I fear that he will be killed on next week's episode. Yes, sorry for the spoiler but I am almost positive that the teaser death on next week's episode is Susan's boyfriend: Donal Logue's character. I might be wrong, but I must inform you that I never for a moment believed that Kovach was dead. If you don't watch ER, then you are probably bored by this, but it needed to be said. That way if I'm right, you will all know how clever and clairvoyant I am. (Or how painfully thin television writers have stooped to in their current plots.)

Donal is my typical pretend boyfriend. He is very funny and smart. (Yes, I believe everything I see on TV.) I normally fall for a guy like Chris Eigeman (can't find a picture to link to!), who is currently guest-starring, of all places, on the Gilmore Girls. Eigeman is like the nerd boy from the art films coming to collect his WB money. Actually, I've seen Eigeman show up pretty much wherever he can make a buck, but I don't care. More reason to like him. He's got no shame. And I think he's cute and funny. And smart.

First step toward a romantic social life: remembering that boys exist. Check!

Next step: remembering that they exist in real life. I'll get back to you on that.

Fame is Fleeting

I saw the trailer for Will Farrell's new movie Elf and it really looks funny. Unfortunately, many films look funny in the trailer and are total bombs in the theater. It's probably just a one-joke film, but I think it looks good. Not that I get to see too many first-run films.

I did see Will Farrell on a plane once. It's always weird seeing someone famous in real life. For me, I'm always a little freaked out at first cuz I think: oh yeah, there's that friend of mine. Then I'm always a little put off that they don't recognize me. Then I crack myself up: I don't know that famous person. Then I go on my merry way, thinking oh yeah, I saw a famous person, I saw a famous person. Once I spent a whole layover at LAX talking with Shawn Wayans, who is the least famous of all the Wayans Bros. And another time I saw Felicity (Keri Russell) arguing with her then real-life and TV boyfriend Ben (Scott Speedman).

But my favorite celebrity spotting was at the New Orleans Jazz Festival where we saw Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum just walking around. We followed him for a bit. And I must admit I took a picture of his butt. Ah, youth. (Three years ago.)