Guiltiest of Guilty Pleasures: MTV's "The Hills"

 

Perhaps, there aren't too many cross-over PBS/MTV viewers like myself, but I just love "The Hills." In fact, when I the stars of the MTV-show on the cover of the current "Rolling Stone," I knew I just had to buy the magazine. And, today (Sunday) I read the whole issue in its entirety, which is perhaps something I haven't done since my senior year in high school back in 1988.

The excellent cover story by Jason Gay touches upon the many reasons why the show, which has been described as a pseudo-reality version of "Beverly Hills 90210," is 'so'  popular, including the excellent camera work, catchy dialogue and most importantly the intense rivalry between Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag (both of whom are blondes).

Conrad herself summed it up best in the article:

"People love to watch people fight on TV. They want to see guys fight too. The whole pro-wrestling thing.

I just got front-row seats at a (pro-wrestling) match.........It was sooooo fake! I knew it was fake, they're, like, actors up there," Lauren said.

Incidentally, as a Lauren-fan, I'm glad Heidi is the one who endorsed John McCain (I'm voting for Hillary Clinton myself), but another amusing part of Gay's article was the fact that the Arizona senator actually publicly thanked Lauren's rival for her endorsement. In fact, he called her a 'very talented, young actress.'

The two other stars of "The Hills" are Audrina Partridge and Whitney Port.

A new episode airs tonight on MTV.

Useful Links:

http://www.rollingstone.com/thehills

 

 

Tags: The Hills, Rolling Stone, Heidi Montag, Lauren Conrad, John McCain

PBS to Air Documentary on George HW Bush

Ironically, as I am getting ready to hear another former president speak tonight, I am posting this entry about a PBS documentary on George H.W. Bush that will air nationally on Monday and Tuesday night as part of the "American Experience" series.

But, here in North Carolina (presumably because of the state primaries on Tues.) the program will air on Wednesday night at 8 p.m., and I'm not sure if WUNC-TV will run one or both episodes of the documentary then.

I hope there will be an inclusion of the great imperssion that Dana Carvey did of Bush on "Saturday Night Live" during those years in the documentary. I think it is one of the best political impressions in "SNL" history though there are so many others, like Chevy Chase's Gerald Ford.

Here are some things you may not have not about the better President Bush or Carvey:

George H.W. Bush was the youngest naval aviator in American history, and he became a millionaire by the age of 40 through o-i-l. Bush One was also chairman of the Republican National Committee during Watergate in 1973.

Carvey was born in Montana. He starred in a short-lived tv version of the helicopter movie "Blue Thunder." Chris Farley called him "The Lady" on set in reference to his church lady skits. And, Carvey, who was not in Todd Haynes' film "I'm Not There" (out on dvd this week), did nonetheless perform a great impression of Bob Dylan.

For the record, I voted for Michael Dukakis and later Bill Cinton, but the elder Bush does seem like a fairly good president mainly because of his son's dubious performance in the White House (at least, Bush One stayed out of Iraq). And, I respect the fact that Turkey and the United States had excellent relations when Bush One was in office.

And, I did watch "SNL" regularly when Carvey was on it, but at some juncture during the Adam Sandler years, I opted for reruns of "Hogan's Heroes" (that is a joke! But, yes, I quit watching the show at some point in the mid-90s. Though I watch it a few times a year now.)

Actually, I have not seen Carvey in a film or tv show in a while, but I'm sure my media-savvy friend Moviezzz knows exactly what he is up to!

Useful Links:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/

http://www.famoustexans.com/georgebush.htm

http://www.bushlibrary.tamu.edu

http://www.danacarvey.net

http://www.talkingmoviezzz.blogspot.com

 

Tags: George HW Bush, George W Bush, Bill Clinton, Michael Dukakis, Dana Carvey, PBS, documentaries, Saturday Night Live

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Ultra-Abridged Novels_ "Wild at Heart" (Entry 1 of 6)

I suppose if the late Stan Brakhage could try experiments with film, it is possible for me to try an experiment with blog entries. I have no idea if people will like this idea or disdain it, but here it goes:

Starting with Barry Gifford's crime novel "Wild at Heart," which was made into a film by David Lynch with Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern in 1990, I am going to use the first and last sentences of six of my favorite novels.

The idea here is that like great filmmakers, great novelists start and conclude their works with very vivid, stark images.

Here is the first sentence from the novel, keep in mind that Lula was the character played quite well by Dern:

"Lula and her friend Beany Thorn sat at a table in the Raindrop Club drinking rum Co-Colas while watching and listening to a white blues band called The Bleach Boys."

And, now the last sentence (well, ok_ technically, two sentences) of the 159-page novel. He refers to Sailor, which was the character played by Cage:

"He picked up his suitcase, kissed Lula lightly on the lips and walked away. She let him go." 

The film version of "Wild at Heart" was rumored to be showing for a midnight screening this weekend in the race-track town of Martinsville, Va., but I could not get a firm confimation on this.

But, if you want to see Barry Gifford (well, this might be difficult from Roanoke or Greensboro), he will be at Moe's Books in Berkeley, Calif., on Aug. 20. Phone 510-849-2087. The author will be at Moe's for a public reading.

Useful Links:

http://www.barrygifford.com

http://www.davidlynch.com

 

Tags: Barry Gifford, David Lynch, Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Wild at Heart

Today is World Nude Gardening Day!

On the surface this might seem like a late April Fool's prank, but today is actually the fourth annual World Nude Gardening Day. Hence, my intended coverage of the North Carolina Democratic Primary (Hillary Clinton was at Guilford College in Greensboro today) will have to wait.....I'm sure Michelle Obama will understand.

I must profess that I would not know the first thing about gardening_ clothes or no clothes! Heck, I feel good when I can make it to the local farmer's market which will probably be setting up by the time I finally get to sleep.

And, though my late father Mehmet Gokbudak went to a nude beach when I was a child in what is now Croatia, I have never shed my clothes in public for any reason_ oh wait! Yes, there was that infamous men's bikini contest I entered in Myrtle Beach back in 1993. Thank God, there was no Youtube then!

I found out about World Nude Gardening Day from a weekly e-newsletter for the NPR radio series "Weekend America" which airs nationally tomorrow. (For those in Zonguldak, Turkey, I will provide the link at the end of this entry, so you can listen to the show or segment).

For the segment, Weekend America co-host Bill Radke will talk to organic farmer Jay North in Ojai, Calif., who partakes in planting his radishes in the buff.

The web site promoting this day, which might be very difficult to celebrate in Provo, Utah, encourages this activity in the following way:

"First of all, on May 3, 2008, find an opportunity to get naked and do some gardening. Do so alone, with friends or family, with your gardening club, or with any other group collected for that purpose."

Useful Links:

http://www.weekendamerica.org

http://www.wngd.org (The official World Nude Gardening Day site)

http://gardenclubofnc.org (They are a fully-clothed organization. Hmmmm_The mental image of a nude old man planting squash in Asheville is more than a bit unsettling.)

http://www.botanicgardens.org (Site for the Denver Botanical Gardens, which my sister highly recommends. I believe that even if one goes there tomorrow, they will at least have to wear a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt.)

 

 

 

Tags: World Nude Gardening Day, NPR, Weekend America, Denver, Asheville NC

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Calvin and Hobbes Quote

The Bill Watterson strip "Calvin and Hobbes" ran for a surprisingly short ten years (1985-95), but it maintains a loyal following and for some reason is extremely popular in Norway.

My friend Pelin Guler of Istanbul, Turkey, sent me this quote from the series:

"It's psychosomatic. You need a lobotomy, get a saw."

Incidentally, Calvin (the boy) was named for 16th century theologian John Calvin and Hobbes (the tiger) was named for 17th century philosopher Thomas Hobbes.

www.calvin-and-hobbes.org

 

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Video of the Day: Tarkan Versus the Vikings

Since "Iron Man" is opening on Friday and the following day is Free Comic Book Day, I thought I would add a Youtube video from a film based on a comic book.

But, this is definitely one most people outside Turkey are probably unfamiliar with. "Tarkan" was a popular comic book when I lived in Turkey in the late 1970s. It took place in the time of the Huns, and it was known for its great illustrations. The comic book created by the late Sezgin Burcak is sort of like a cross between "Prince Valiant" and "Conan the Barbarian."

Turkey's most popular pop singer Tarkan took his name from that same character, and hence most people no longer think of the comic book character when they hear the name Tarkan.

This film with '70s matinee idol Kartal Tibet is actually available on NetFlix! (with English subtitles, no less). This octopus sequence is the most amusing one in the film. For my money, this film is even more over-the-top than "The Turkish Star Wars."

"Tarkan Versus the Vikings" was made at a time when nationalism was resurfacing in Turkey, mainly due to ethnic conflicts between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots in the island nation of Cyprus. And, this film certainly reflects those sentiments!

Tags: Tarkan Versus the Vikings, Tarkan (pop singer), Turkish Star Wars, comic book movies

Quote of the Day- French Filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard

Since today is May 1 or May Day, which is perhaps only celebrated in Cuba, I thought I would post a quote from my favorite left-wing filmmaker, who is not Michael Moore but rather the great French master Jean-Luc Godard.

Godard, who directed the original version of "Breathless," is also a filmmaker who is admired by my friends Bilge Ebiri and Moviezzz. Ebiri said (if memory serves me right) that he had seen all of Godard's films (which is quite a lot) by the time he was 13!

Here is the quote which seems quite appropriate to me as I saw (I don't know if I should admit this) "Superheroes: The Movie" last night, although it was better than I anticipated:

"I pity the French Cinema because it has no money. I pity the American Cinema because it has no ideas."

Tags: Jean-Luc Godard, May Day, Bilge Ebiri, Moviezzz

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