More Fun With Footloose!

Kevin's still got the moves!

Will Paul Ryan Run For President?

Back in August I wrote a post about what happens to unsuccessful candidates for POTUS and VPOTUS. I pointed out that politicians generally don't jump directly from the House to the White House. Now one of my favorite bloggers, Jonathan Bernstein, is in somewhat the same territory as he ponders whether or not 2012 Republican VP nominee Paul Ryan is a credible potential candidate for president in 2016. Read it here.

FWIW, Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post said a few weeks ago that he's hearing Ryan won't run, preferring to pursue leadership opportunities in the House of Representatives.

Update: this is the post where I talk about politicians running for president from the House. 

Dead Gorgeous Blonde Woman

After a sidebar story three weeks ago People gives the Oscar Pistorious trial the full True Crime/Dead Celebrity treatment this week. Victim Reeva Steenkamp wasn't actually a celebrity here in America while she was alive, but she's certainly a Dead Gorgeous Blonde Woman now and that's enough for People. Media Literacy question: Would the trial be getting this much media coverage in the U.S. if Steenkamp had been only average looking? Answer: almost certainly not.

I've been expecting a Jennifer Aniston story for a while now (she turned 45, she's still engaged but not yet married,) although I can't imagine what "secrets" she might share. If her beauty secrets include such non-secrets as keeping skin moisturized or drinking lots of water, remember that she's a paid endorser for Aveeno and Smart Water.

The Guessing Game

After all the fuss about the April Vogue cover, what will People go with this week? Is the Kimye buzz enough to get them a People cover as well? I really, really, really hope not. Other possibilities:

• Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher: engaged and now expecting. How does Demi feel about all this? 
• Most Beautiful: People's website has been featuring pictures of attractive non-celebrities, which may be a clue that they're getting ready for their annual Most Beautiful issue
• Gloria Steinem: turning 80

I'm still expecting a royal cover one of these days, tied either to Harry and Cressy or Will and Kate's trip to Australia and New Zealand. A DWTS cover, featuring some or all of the current contestants, is also a possibility.

That's it for now; maybe People will surprise me with something completely unexpected.

Tuesday afternoon update: A couple more possibilities. Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin have separated, and L'Wren Scott's funeral was held in Los Angeles.

You Knew It Was Coming

Obviously I'm not the only one who's finding the whole Kimye on Vogue thing annoying. There's lots of hilarious Twitter snarking going on, people are threatening to cancel their subscriptions to Vogue, Anna Wintour even felt compelled to write an Editor's Letter in which she flatly denies that Kanye "begged" her to put Kim on the cover.

Even Kermit and Miss Piggy got into the act:



So why did Wintour do it? Still thinking about that. The short answer, as with People and any other magazine, is "to sell magazines." The cover story of any magazine, from Sports Illustrated to Forbes to O, is carefully chosen to drive newsstand/airport/supermarket sales. So how much does Vogue's target audience, i.e., fashionistas who like to read Vogue but don't already have a subscription, care about Kim Kardashian? Are they interested, or at least are they not-annoyed enough to cough up the cover price and buy the issue? If the goal was simply to create a controversy and generate buzz, Wintour's strategy has succeeded brilliantly, but what counts is the bottom line. Buzz that doesn't generate actual revenue is pretty much worthless. And if the buzz includes a big enough backlash, if newsstand sales tank and some subscribers actually cancel their subscriptions, the stunt will turn out to be a serious negative for Vogue and for Wintour.

You could spend most of the day clicking your way through everything that's being written about this; here are a few of my favorites.

LA Times:  Anna Wintour: Rumor Kanye begged" for Kim's Vogue cover isn't true"
Adweek: Anna Wintour Defends "Kimye" Vogue Cover
The Daily Beast:  Will Kim and Kanye Kill Vogue?

And, if you must:  Vogue has part of the article available online.

Final thought, at least for now: Photoshop. Kim looks pretty artificially enhanced to me. How long before someone comes up with the "unretouched" version of the cover shot?

Really?

Am I a really horrible person if I say that I hope this is the *worst* selling Vogue cover ever? What on earth is Anna Wintour thinking?

Officials Are Not Amused...

Apparently if you visit Machu Picchu you may feel the urge to doff your duds and pose for a selfie. Apparently Peruvian officials are not amused. Thoughts? Is "naked tourism" going to become a thing? If you're intrigued, check out website My Naked Trip, which is pretty much what you would expect.

The Agony Of The Families

I'm 4 for 4 this week. People goes with another "If it bleeds, it leads..." disaster for the main cover story, with a celebrity wedding, a celebrity death and a royal as sidebar stories. I haven't read any of the stories yet, but in Kate's case, based on what I've read elsewhere, I'm betting there's not much "news" to the story. The so-called truth about her baby plans is simply that William is being quoted saying that for right now, one is enough. The actual quote, in response to a question about baby number two: "Maybe one day, one's enough at the moment."

On the positive side, I'd like to thank People's headline writer for using L'Wren Scott's name in their headline about her death. You might think this is a no-brainer but you would be wrong. For a couple of days many news sites, including cnn international, were running headlines stating that "Mick Jagger's girlfriend" had died, not mentioning her actual name at all.

The Guessing Game

We're almost certain to get a Dead Celebrity story this week, if not for the main headline then one of the sidebars. Designer L'Wren Scott took her own life Monday, and while she wasn't all that famous outside the fashion/entertainment industry, she was also, as CNN and other media outlets insist on calling her, "Mick Jagger's girlfriend" (he was with her longer than with either of his two wives...) and that's probably enough for the full Dead Celebrity treatment. Comedian David Brenner and friend-to-Jackie Kennedy and cash-provider-to-John Edwards Bunny Mellon also died this week and could get sidebar stories. Other possibilities:

• Savannah Guthrie: got married and announced she's pregnant
• Royals: William and Kate were out and about for St. Patrick's day; Harry is or is not engaged to Cressy. A couple of tabloids have "Harry's Engaged" stories on their covers this week but I also saw an article saying that said any engagement talk is "premature." There was also reporting that said Princess Diana had leaked private royal phone numbers to a reporter. 
• Jennifer Hudson: no longer working with Weight Watchers
• Jamie Lynn Spears: married. I don't think this is that big of a deal, but I ignored Stacy Keibler's wedding, which rated a sidebar story last week. 
• Halle Berry: a third marriage break-up?
• The Malaysian Airliner: the Americans on board, the agony of the families, the private lives of the pilots, etc
• Rob Lowe: he just turned 50, he still looks great. 
• George Clooney: on safari in Africa with his new girlfriend
• Kimye: Kanye got probation, community service and anger management classes (Ha!) for an altercation with a photographer last summer. Kim's hair is shorter.   
• Ongoing: the Dancing With The Stars cast, and if the current Juan Pablo issue is selling especially well we could get another Bachelor cover story, perhaps focusing on runner-up Clare or new Bach'ette Andi. 

Things I Don't Care About

March Madness. I'm just not into college basketball.

WTF Headline

Abandoned squirrel lives in girl's ponytail. Really.

Will Hillary Run?

Who knows? My assumption right now is that not even Hillary knows for sure. If, if, she decides not to run, who else is there on the Democratic side? If, if, Hill opts out all hell will break loose. It won't be pretty but it will be very entertaining.

Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post says there are currently four tiers of potential Dem candidates. Hill is the first, and if she runs, the only tier. If she doesn't run, there's a second tier (If she says no...) with VP Joe Biden and Maryland governor Martin O'Malley; a third tier (Not interested, but...) with NY gov Andrew Cuomo, NY senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Massachusetts gov Deval Patrick and Mass. senator Elizabeth Warren; and a fourth tier (Just not happening...) with NJ senator Cory Booker and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders (who?)

Back in February, I had some fun pondering Andrew Cuomo as a candidate. Check it out here.

There He Is

Finally, here's the Bachelor cover. I haven't read the article yet but can't wait to learn why Nikki "still wants to marry him." I tanked on the sidebar stories and the top right corner tease, and I'm really surprised there's nothing about Prince Harry. In particular I didn't know that there's a new O.J. book coming out, but the story reminds me that it's now been 20 years since the murders. Here's the first of People's cover stories, which is dated June 27, 1994:

The Guessing Game: Rum, Chocolate Cake & Scented Candles

Two big guesses this week. With all the weirdness on last night's finale of The Bachelor, this could be the week of the big Bach cover story. I have a love/hate relationship with the show - it's so silly, obnoxious and manipulative by turns that I'm embarrassed to admit I watch. On the other hand it's so hilariously entertaining that I can't stop actually, you know, watching. (True: I was folding clean laundry during part of the show last night so it didn't have my full attention.) Based on my scan of the current pop culture landscape, Worst Bachelor Ever Juan Pablo, and some combination of "winner but not engaged" Nikki, "keep your hands off me, you creep" Clare and "this has nothing to do with me because I'm the next Bachelorette" Andi will probably be the lead story.

Unless... There's also big news from London. Prince Harry and girlfriend Cressida Bonas were photographed together at one of the prince's official events, which for royalty is as close as it gets to signifying official coupleness without an actual engagement. Time has a fun video with five things to know about Cressida, noting that she has a distinct "90s" fashion sensibility; I'm seeing a slight swinging-60s-in-London vibe too, with the heavy eyebrows, dark lashes and pale pink lips. Will Harry propose? Is Cressy going to be a princess? (Or, more likely, Her Royal Highness the Duchess-of-something-or-other. Normally the second son takes the title of Duke of York, but since the Queen's second son, Prince Andrew, is still around, Her Majesty will have to find another "Dukedom" for Harry and Cressy, but that's a guessing game for another day.) Lots to ponder where Harry is concerned, and as I'm typing this I'm betting that Harry gets the main cover with Juan Pab and the girls as a sidebar story.

Other possibilities:
The Dancing With The Stars cast
The missing Malaysia Airlines flight, with three American passengers
Kimye sets a wedding date
Amy Robach's cancer treatment

47 Degrees

Weather is relative. Right now, weather.com says it's 47 degrees here in Chicagoland, and if this were July, we'd be fussing about how it's a summertime Polar Vortex and we're so cold. Since we just lived through a real, wintertime PV, 47 feels pretty balmy. I've got all my windows open to get as much fresh air as possible into the house. Be gone, stale winter air!

And how many days until Spring???

Do You Remember The Venus Butterfly?

Fans of the 1980s-era TV show LA Law have been wondering for years why it hadn't been released on DVD and apparently the wait is over, at least for season 1. According to CNN, the first season is now out on DVD with season 2 to follow in a few months, and as a fan of the show, I'm rejoicing, even as I count on my fingers to determine that it's been 28 years (yikes) since the show premiered in 1986.

I know I sound like someone's grandmother when I say this, but the world was so different then. It's almost hard to remember how anything got done with no PC's, no cell phones, much less smart phones, no internet, no Facebook/no Twitter, etc. I have a feeling life in 1986 is going to seem not just old-fashioned but downright primitive. I can't remember from watching the first time around if anyone ever goes to a pay phone and puts in a dime to make a phone call but it wouldn't surprise me. Do the legal secretaries hand messages to their bosses on those little pink message sheets? Will we see someone give a presentation with actual slides or an overhead projector? The mind reels and I haven't even mentioned the over-the-top make-up, hair and dress-for-success fashion. The show was fun to watch in real time back in the late 80s and it's going to be a true blast-from-the-past time capsule to watch now. I can't wait!

The CNN article also has a fun "where are they now" feature on the stars of the show. Check it out here.

Big Dog, Little Dog

This cute video is going viral as "Cooper Loves Ice Cream," and yes, he does. Daisy's the little dog, Cooper's the big one, and as you watch you may feel a little sorry for Cooper (I did,) but hang in there. He gets his turn. Love it.

Oscar And The Oscars

It's an Oscar/Oscars cover this week. I wouldn't have guessed that Matthew McConaughey is the most marketable, or even the most interesting, story to come out of the Oscars, but here he is. We also get the dresses and all the other hoopla. The other Oscar is the one on trial for murder in South Africa and I've been thinking that he would show up on the cover one of these days, but after a quick look back at previous Guessing Game stories, it looks like I never actually wrote it down. Oh well, trust me, it was on my mind.

The Guessing Game

Nothing strikes me as a sure thing this week, unless we get an Oscar dresses/Oscar parties cover. The Bachelor, or in this case, the women who don't like The Bachelor, is also still an option. Other possibilities:

• Wills, Kate and Prince George will be traveling to Australia and New Zealand in April and the palace has confirmed that we will see pictures of George! Kate will be wearing new clothes! And she may get a haircut!  
• The new Dancing With The Stars cast was just announced, including Olympic Ice Dancing champs Meryl Davis and Charlie White, who will be competing against each other. 
• Kerry Kennedy has been doing some really-I-didn't-get-acquitted-just-because-I'm-rich-and-famous media and she may show up on the cover as well. 

Put On Your Dancing Shoes!

On Good Morning America this morning George S said the Dancing With The Stars cast that will be introduced this morning is "the hottest ever." Really? The names haven't been announced yet, but as soon as they are I'll start pondering the hotness factor. Immediate question: Is Juan Pablo (a.k.a. this season's boring, self-absorbed, barely-literate-in-English Bachelor) taking to the dance floor? Stay tuned...

Tuesday afternoon update: The Cast
Meryl Davis
Charlie White
Amy Purdy
Billy Dee Williams
Candace Cameron Buré
Danica McKellar
Cody Simpson
Diana Nyad
Drew Carey
James Maslow
Nene Leakes
Sean Avery

Well, OK. This crew doesn't strike me as any hotter than any of the previous casts, but I guess it's kind of like The Bachelor - every episode must be promoted as the "most dramatic ever." I'm 8:4 on knowing who these people are, since I've at least heard of Davis & White, Williams, Buré, McKellar, Nyad, Carey and Leakes. The other four, Purdy, Simpson, Maslow and Avery, are completely unknown to moi.

As a matter of principle, I usually root for the most senior (read: oldest) woman in the bunch, which in this case is Diana Nyad, so Go Diana! Common sense says the Olympians, and especially Meryl Davis, are the front-runners to win. Athletes in general are used to working with their bodies and learning new physical skills, focusing narrowly on a specific goal and being coached, and certainly ice dancing seems to have some relevant transferable skills. On the other hand, Charlie and Meryl will be dancing alone, or at least not with each other. After 17 years as partners, seeing Davis and White compete against each other might be the most intriguing element of the whole show.

Last thought: no Juan Pablo, which is fine with me.

Exclusive Clubs

There were no big surprises at the Oscars last night. Matthew, Jared and Lupita join the "Oscar Winners Club," and Cate joins the more exclusive club for people who've won more than 1 Oscar. Congrats to all, but I've got a couple of other, even more exclusive, clubs on my mind this morning.

Do you know what "EGOT" is? It refers to the highest awards in four disciplines: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, and if someone wins all four awards, they're a member of the EGOT club. As of last night, when Robert Lopez won his Oscar for Best Original Song, there are now 12 "EGOTs":

Richard Rodgers
Helen Hayes
Rita Moreno
John Gielgud
Audrey Hepburn
Marvin Hamlisch
Jonathan Tunick
Mel Brooks
Mike Nichols
Whoopi Goldberg
Scott Rudin
Robert Lopez

Distinguished company indeed. James Earl Jones, Liza Minelli and  Barbra Streisand are also EGOT members, but with asterisks next to their names because one or more of their awards were for "lifetime achievement" and not for a specific performance.

The other club is for "Actors who've won Oscars, but not for Acting," and the latest member is Brad Pitt. Yes, both halves of Brangelina now have Oscars. (Angie won Best Supporting Actress for Girl, Interrupted in 1999.) Pitt had a small acting role in 12 Years A Slave, but he was also a producer, which means he shares in the Best Picture win. Robert Redford, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon also have non-acting Oscars, and of course, gorgeous George Clooney has both - 1 for acting and one for producing.

And The Oscar Goes To...

... Matthew, Cate, Jared and Lupita, if I believe what I've read and heard. In fact, there's apparently almost no suspense this year, at least in the acting categories. A prognosticator this morning said there's "no way" Jared Leto doesn't win. Really? It almost makes you wonder why they even bothered to have everyone vote. As always, I'm hoping for a big upset. An Oscar win for Barkhad Abdi, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and/or Sally Hawkins, or any of the other non-shoo-ins, would shake up a predictable event and make it lots more entertaining. 

And Academy? One more thing: Please get rid of the annual tribute to dead people. It's excruciating.