May 8
I love this woman, and she made The View relevant. I always get a laugh from this blunt, and accurate observation. I know in our society we think that an overweight lesbian shouldn’t have an opinion, but this is who I take seriously, not some stupid straight man who thinks he’s an authority on EVERYTHING!
Donald’s rebuttal was the most misogynist piece of crap, and no one cared to take him to task over it.
Jeanne Cooper, who played matriarch Katherine Chancellor on the daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless, has died at the age of 84.
Jeanne’s son, Corbin Bernsen of L.A. Law fame, took to Facebook to say that his sister was at her side when their mother peacefully passed away in her sleep. She had been in and out of hospital for some time.
He wrote:
Wasn’t sure how I would have to say these words so I opt for simplicity at least to begin…
My mother passed away this morning just a short time ago, peaceful with my sister by her side, in her sleep. I was going to visit this afternoon, thought I had time. Reminder to self – time is a precious thing. I too am at peace however. I said my goodbyes several times over during the last few weeks. I’ll go one last time now for a gentle kiss a final farewell for this lifetime. She has been a blaze her entire life, that beacon, that boxer I spoke of earlier. She went the full twelve rounds and by unanimous decision… won! And while her light finally gave into the wind that gives flight to all our journeys, there will always be a glimmer left behind by what she stood for. I will speak about that more in coming days, months I suppose.
I will certainly dedicate what remains of my life to continue her purpose of honesty, equality, humility, empathy and love. So many of you have said your prayers for her and right now, today, I can say the best way to honor her is to inhabit your lives with those things she stood for. I would ask that closer friends respectfully give us some time to find our family’s path in this transition, and please limit calls, emails and the rest for a couple of days. As always, your outpouring of love here on this page, is not only welcomed to continue but truly appreciated and comforting. I asked my sister what time she passed exactly, and she told me (not to important for public record) but I was working out and just happened to pick out a song for my final moments on the treadmill – “Everlasting Light” by the Black Keys. Oh what a wonder it all is… what a magnificence!
RIP Jeanne.
First off, Italian men are the sexiest creatures on Earth. After them Argentine men are the most sexy. I’m an authority on this, trust me, considering that I’m Italian. Well, half-Italian, and look how hot I am!
Last night was the MET Ball in NYC and I discovered Italian designer Riccardo Tisci for the first time. He created Madonna’s monstrosity that you see below. Fierce.
Then I watched some clips of him speaking and I was weak in the knees. I’m in love. He does talk a lot about praying and God and blah blah blah! I’ll forgive him.
Anyway, it was a nice wake-up call.
I forgot about my new movie of the week series so to make up for it I’m recommending two for you today.
Julia Sweeney is best remembered as the androgynous Pat from Saturday Night Live but she is also memorable for her one-woman shows that detail her battle with cancer and her journey from Catholicism to atheism.
After leaving the cast of SNL, Sweeney returned to Los Angeles where her marriage ended amicably and her brother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. During this time her parents move in to help care for her dying brother, but Sweeney’s own mortality is tested when she is diagnosed with cervical cancer. These events inspired her to write God Said Ha!, a life affirming film of subtle wit and grace. Sweeney’s delivery and razor-sharp intelligence is on full display throughout the 90 minute movie, which was produced by Quentin Tarantino.
After her brother dies, and she’s left with her own cancer, and her grieving parents, Sweeney does what she can to rebuild her life. But trust me, this is not a sad, gloomy one-woman show, in fact, the humour that Sweeney enlists to cope with these extraordinary circumstances brings much-needed relief to such heavy subject matter.
The second film is Letting Go of God. In it she discusses her Catholic upbringing, her own internal struggle with scripture and her eventual shift to atheism. Richard Dawkins references this movie many times in his book The God Delusion and for good reason: Sweeney is able to explain the reasons for her spiritual crisis in a manner that is never insulting to Catholics, though she does have reason, as she studied and read the Bible from front to back, when most Catholics can only recite certain versus. Her horror upon discovering how mean-spirited Jesus was, and how violent the stories in the Bible are, led to her knowledge quest.
So there you go. I recommend that you spend some cash and a little time and watch these two movies. I’m not exaggerating when I say they will open your mind to a world you probably never knew existed.
Thanks.
Something on Alisha’s blog reminded me of this music video with Jake Gyllenhaal playing tennis. Funny.
The ingenue
I’ve never really liked Gwyneth Paltrow and the hype that surrounded her when she won her Oscar for Shakespeare in Love back in 1999. An Oscar, I might add, that should have gone to Cate Blanchett for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in Shekhar Kapur’s underrated film Elizabeth.
Paltrow was born into celebrity royalty, her late father Bruce Paltrow was a successful director and her mother is actress Blythe Danner.
There are a few movies starring “Gwynnie” that I actually enjoy. For example I believe she shone in Proof, and Sliding Doors; I own both those movies and watch them from time to time.
In 2008 she began publishing a weekly newsletter called GOOP. The idea was inspired by Oprah’s philosophy, in that it encourages everyday women to live their best life. She wants to share all of life’s positives, even if your life is completely shit.
She markets herself as the every woman, a busy mother of two who needs to save time, simplify her life and live the best lifestyle possible. It’s easy for someone of Gwyneth’s wealth to espouse the benefits of a $450 skin moisturizer, but by revealing a little too much about her own lifestyle, she has begun to appear a little out of touch.
Gwyneth refers to her detractors as “negative” and “haters.” I find GOOP hilarious for all the wrong reasons. For example, her essentials for Spring include a $1,600 skirt for those ever important “girl nights” at home watching movies. Her “must-haves” for Spring came at a whopping total of $450,000. I doubt Gwyneth realizes that the majority of the population will never earn $450,000 in their lifetime.
Just recently she published a “health” cookbook that was panned by food critics because it promotes an unhealthy obsession with eliminating almost every food except quinoa and pomegranate from one’s diet. According to the publisher’s description, this book contains recipes based on the following principles… ”no coffee, no alcohol, no dairy, no eggs, no sugar, no shellfish, no deep-water fish, no wheat, no meat, no soy, nothing processed at all!”
Okay as a strict vegetarian I’m on board with eliminating certain food groups from your diet, but this is a bit excessive. Gwyneth’s forward states, in all seriousness, that she almost died from eating too many French fries. She enlisted the help of her “top-notch” doctor and together developed these recipes.
It’s also of note, that a few years ago Gywneth was diagnosed with osteopenia, most likely a result of malnourishment.
It all seems very “actress-y” to me. To make matters worse, a reader calculated how much it would cost to make the meals she has earnestly recommended for the regular woman making $40,000 a year, and guess how much it would cost?
$300 a day. That’s right, Gwyneth expects you to spend $300 a day to eat.
She’s out of touch to say the least, but that’s not what bothers me the most.
First let me say that I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m envious. I wish I didn’t have to worry about how much everything I purchased cost. I pray for the day where I never have to worry about money again, but I am no different from 99% of the population: Poor.
What bothers me about Gwyneth’s lifestyle tips is that she is marketing this trite to middle-class women but she has no idea how middle-class women live.
She has no idea what it’s like to work 12 hour days, every week of the year, while simultaneously raising more than one child, trying to sustain a marriage and worrying about losing her job, because she won’t be able to pay her mortgage.
Gwyneth is not just out of touch, she’s insulting.
She offered this hangover tip to her readers: An hour in your sauna. No kidding. She thinks that everyone has the TIME to lay around for ONE FULL HOUR while their nannies raise their children, in their VERY OWN PRIVATE sauna!
Don’t try to convince Gwyneth that she’s out of touch, because to her, you’re just a hater. You’re negative. You’re not living your best life.
Someone said to me a couple of days ago that rich people like Gwyneth shouldn’t be ashamed of their wealth.
Yes they should. Many of them didn’t earn their money like Oprah, or Madonna have. They were born into it, and that makes them believe that they are somehow more valuable than everyone else on the planet, especially the poor, whom they believe are lazy, and just need to find a job.
Her advice, and response to criticism, wreak of condescension and over-privileged entitlement. This is behaviour that influenced the French revolution.
In this economy, where a record number of Americans are out-of-work and scared, it is in poor taste to make them feel bad that they’re not living their “best life.” Even in poorer taste than serving canned soup as a starter at dinner.
Her inflated ego, and obsession with possession is wrong, for a variety of reasons.
Owning “stuff” and being rich does not make a person whole. If she wasn’t so laughable, I would boycott her future films and picket at film premiers where she makes appearances. Okay, no I wouldn’t but I would encourage you to!
Many people like Gwyneth believe that their critics are afraid of “successful” women. Well, I’m definitely not afraid, and I would be humiliated to learn that I was as willfully unaware of the poverty surrounding me, as she is.
Success is something that comes from inside. It’s about surrounding yourself with good people who have compassion for people who are disenfranchised. It’s about being happy, regardless of what you own, and living your life ego free. It’s about making good choices, establishing inner harmony.
It’s about doing a good deed, and not expecting a reward for doing it. Success is about being a good person, and not focusing on what you wear, what your job title is, how much money you make and where you have travelled.
I dislike Gwyneth Paltrow because she represents what’s wrong with our society today: Thoughtlessness. The inability to critically think about our actions and how it affects the people around us.
She may be a very nice person, but she has no idea what it’s like to live off of $40,000 a year and it’s insulting of her to pretend that she does when her little newsletter painfully proves otherwise.
I hope at some point we as a society will begin to understand that empathy and love is far more important than owning a $1,600 skirt. That is not something anyone should strive to attain.
Allow me to leave on this one note. This recent attitude by celebrities like Beyonce and Gwyneth Paltrow that they are just like you and me is infuriating. They’re not. They have money and access to freedom that many of us will never achieve. Though they belong to the same species as we do, they are not as down to earth as they pretend to be.
That my friends is marketing, so that they can make more money and more money off the middle class. A class that they pity.
Peace out.
I can’t wait for Jul 26! My favourite actress and director together finally!
Jewel consistently provides a fascinating interview, especially when Howard Stern is asking the questions. She returned to the Stern studio recently to talk about her life and Greatest Hits record.
When she speaks about her dysfunctional family she says, “I realized that you become what you’re around, and I knew that what I was around wasn’t the healthiest.”
Cate Blanchett’s Oscar dresses from left to right: 1999, 2004, 2007, 2011
Tomorrow night the Oscars celebrate the best in movie making. Of course, people are more likely to tune in to see what the actresses will be wearing, and one person who never disappoints when it comes to style is Cate Blanchett. She makes some bold and courageous decisions that’s for sure. Now that her reign as Artistic Director for the Sydney Theatre Company is over, Blanchett is slated to appear in 6 films this year. The one I’m looking forward to the most is Blue Jasmine, directed by Woody Allen.
I’ve been told a few times in my life (just a few) that I look like Michael Fassbender. Yes, I agree. If someone thinks I’m this hot (which I’m not) then I’ll take that compliment and run with it. No really, just call me Michael, and yes, I’ll autograph your copy of Shame for you. You betcha.
In all fairness I’ve also been told the I look like Bryan Adams, Sean Avery, Chris O’Donnell and Woody Harrelson. You can’t win them all. Oh yeah, and once I was told that I look like Ricky Martin, from the nose down.
Hello I'm Franco. I write about anything that interests me, which includes travel, my dog, my cat, television, radio, movies, music, you name it, I'm into it. I'm an annoyingly proud Canadian who loves to drink too much beer and stare inappropriately and uncomfortably at strangers. Don't get me started on anything political, because I get even more obnoxious.
I possess great compassion and seek to be of service to others. 
