What is it with airlines and tweets about the World Cup? A couple of weeks ago Delta got in trouble because they didn't know that there are no giraffes in Ghana.
Now Royal Dutch Airlines is in #twitterhell because of their tweet about Mexico's loss to the Netherlands. Read about it here.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Oops
In an earlier post I had said I was going to refer to my niece and her now-husband as "Lisa" and "Todd," to protect their privacy. I just realized, however, that one of the pictures I just posted has their real names front and center. Oh well, the secret's out. Laura and Tommy it is.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Two Days To Go
Here we are, coming up on 48 hours before the wedding -- the forecast for Saturday is holding steady at 30% chance of rain and it's actually been raining all day today. After a lot of discussion yesterday the decision was made to go ahead and get a big tent, just in case. Hopefully just knowing there will be a tent will help everyone to relax about the (possibly) less-than-perfect weather. I'm being a little superstitious and hoping that having the tent there will be insurance against actually needing it, as in "Sure, we brought in a tent and now the sun is shining..." As I said in an earlier post, the wedding will go on, rain or shine.
We've started a list, and we're filling a very large bag, with stuff to be sure and take to the wedding: the "Reserved" signs, table signs, painted candle holders, potted plants, etc. I've got my own list, which is shorter and mostly features flat shoes for the reception. I'm also taking my mother's diamond earrings and aquamarine ring, which Lisa is going to wear. It's very sentimental to all of us and we're sure missing Mom this week.
The men in the wedding party, including my b-i-l, also known as the "Father of the Bride," are going to pick up their tuxes this afternoon and the bride, the maid-of-honor, my sister, a.k.a, the "Mother of the Bride," and I are going for manicures. Various female members of the family, who shall remain unnamed, have been indulging in assorted rituals including exfoliating, waxing, spray tanning, updo test runs and pedicures. I may be getting into "too much information" territory so I'll simply say that it's all lots of fun and it's going to be a great wedding!
We've started a list, and we're filling a very large bag, with stuff to be sure and take to the wedding: the "Reserved" signs, table signs, painted candle holders, potted plants, etc. I've got my own list, which is shorter and mostly features flat shoes for the reception. I'm also taking my mother's diamond earrings and aquamarine ring, which Lisa is going to wear. It's very sentimental to all of us and we're sure missing Mom this week.
The men in the wedding party, including my b-i-l, also known as the "Father of the Bride," are going to pick up their tuxes this afternoon and the bride, the maid-of-honor, my sister, a.k.a, the "Mother of the Bride," and I are going for manicures. Various female members of the family, who shall remain unnamed, have been indulging in assorted rituals including exfoliating, waxing, spray tanning, updo test runs and pedicures. I may be getting into "too much information" territory so I'll simply say that it's all lots of fun and it's going to be a great wedding!
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Melissa McCarthy
I've been away from the blog for a few days, a state of mind that will continue through this week-end when my niece gets married. It's the reason I didn't do an official Guessing Game post this week but if I had I might have thought of Melissa McCarthy because I've seen commercials for her new movie. I (mentally) figured the two celeb weddings might get the nod as sidebars.
I do have a new post up at Blog To Work, entitled "Battle Scars." You can read it here.
The upcoming wedding in my family is why I've gone mostly blog-silent this week and the excitement is building. I'm planning to post some pictures and stories about all the festivities, although I'll probably hold most of it until Sunday. (I've heard that with the ubiquity of social media, sometimes pictures of the bride in her dress and other details get posted on Facebook or other online places before the wedding even takes place. Not gonna happen here.) Right now our biggest concern, since it's an outdoor ceremony, is the weather on Saturday. I've been obsessively checking weather.com for the last few days and although they've been predicting rain, things appear to be improving, with a forecast of "showers" now downgraded to "few showers" and the chance of rain down from 60% to 30%.
The show will go on, rain or shine, and it will be a great day of celebration and love. More to come... In the meantime, here's another picture of the bride and groom, from their engagement photo shoot.
One more thing: My niece and her soon-to-be husband are not named "Lisa" and "Todd," but for privacy reasons that's how I'm going to refer to them here in the blog.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Dancing With Derek And Julianne
Another cover story I didn't predict, although I thought we might get a DWTS story while the show was actually on, especially with all the heat generated by Maksim and Meryl. Prince George gets a sidebar story and World Cup players ("Hottest Guys of the World Cup") get a topline tease, although I admit I can't identify who it is that's actually pictured. And I'm always up for stories about a hero dog and a painting horse!
Nine Days And Counting
My beautiful niece's wedding is only 9 days away! I'm in celebratory wedding mode and to start things off I'm posting this cute picture from their engagement photo shoot. Now if only the weather would cooperate!
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
The Mrs. Potato Head Of Modern Womanhood
Every time I tell myself I'm going to stop blogging about the Kardashians, something comes along that's so outrageous, annoying or just plain hilarious that I have to take to the blog and start typing. Right now it's the picture above, which is making the rounds on the internet, and the story below, by Charlotte Alter at time.com.
This picture is worth a thousand words.
Nobody would argue that Kim Kardashian is an everywoman, but this picture proves she’s certainly trying to be every type of woman at the same time.
The stroller says “I’m a mommy,” but her boobs say “I’m a sex goddess.” Her silver eyeliner says “I’m a party animal,” while her nude lipstick says “I’m a natural beauty.” Her retro blowout says “I’m pulled together” while her blazer, well, isn’t. But above all, her shoulder pads say “I’m a professional,” which she most certainly is. (Kardashian’s estimated worth is $45 million.)
Baby + boobs + beauty + blowout + blazer = BOOM. Kim Kardashian is having it all, at one time, in one picture.
Three cheers for Kim Kardashian, the Mrs. Potato Head of modern womanhood.
I really do wonder what goes on in Mrs. West's head. I'm also beginning to wonder what it's really like to be married to Kanye West. He's just informed the world that they spent 4 days on their honeymoon working on their "kiss" picture, because "Kim's so important to the internet," yet he's also got her strutting around in one outrageous outfit after another, looking so bootylicious and boobtastic that no one with a brain could possibly take her seriously.
Right now all appears to be well with Kimye but if (when) things fall apart, which they almost certainly will, it will be one for the ages. In the meantime, the L.A. Times dishes the dirt about the kiss picture, the honeymoon and why Annie Leibovitz bailed on taking their wedding pictures.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Our Precious Tweet
Delta Airlines was the subject of some Twitter mockery yesterday, when they tweeted a congratulatory message for the U.S. soccer team after their exciting 2-1 victory over Ghana. So what's wrong with this picture?
I wouldn't have known either, off the top of my head, but apparently there are no giraffes in Ghana. (Interestingly, Delta does in fact fly to Ghana, but they don't appear to know the country very well. Or, at least, whoever manages their Twitter feed doesn't know Ghana very well.)
The part that really made me laugh, however, was when Delta tried to tweet out an apology:
I wouldn't have known either, off the top of my head, but apparently there are no giraffes in Ghana. (Interestingly, Delta does in fact fly to Ghana, but they don't appear to know the country very well. Or, at least, whoever manages their Twitter feed doesn't know Ghana very well.)
The part that really made me laugh, however, was when Delta tried to tweet out an apology:
What's wrong with this picture? Just one little letter - they meant to say "previous" tweet. It's all about the proofreading, people.
CNN's story (The Giraffe Gaffe) has some of the clever response tweets.
CNN's story (The Giraffe Gaffe) has some of the clever response tweets.
The Guessing Game
What will be on the cover of People magazine this week?
Ruby Dee: Award-winning actress and civil rights activist, died at age 91
Ruby Dee: Award-winning actress and civil rights activist, died at age 91
Harrison Ford: Hurt his foot on the set of the new Star Wars movie
President George H.W. Bush: A cool parachute jump on his 90th birthday
Pippa Middleton: Kate's sister is biking across America for charity
Kasey Casem: Died, after much family drama
Jason Patric: A custody battle for an IVF child
Malia Obama: Worked as a production assistant on a TV show
The World Cup: America wins its first match, John Brooks scores the winning goal
As mentioned in a previous post, there are cute new pictures of Prince George walking, so he could get another cover.
Pippa Middleton: Kate's sister is biking across America for charity
Kasey Casem: Died, after much family drama
Jason Patric: A custody battle for an IVF child
Malia Obama: Worked as a production assistant on a TV show
The World Cup: America wins its first match, John Brooks scores the winning goal
As mentioned in a previous post, there are cute new pictures of Prince George walking, so he could get another cover.
Where Were You?
Twenty years ago, on a nice Friday night in June, I went on a memorable first date with a man I'll call Brian. (Not his real name.) We had dinner at my favorite restaurant in Schaumburg, then, since it was such a nice evening, we decided to drive into downtown Chicago and go up to the observation deck at the top of the Hancock Building. Brian and I were enjoying the view when we noticed that we were the only people up there who were actually enjoying the view. Everyone else was gathered around the small gift shop, intently watching something on the attendant's tiny television set.
Curious, we walked over to see what was happening. What could possibly be so mesmerizing? (In those more innocent days, we didn't automatically assume that something terrible had happened. We also couldn't just check our phones. Smart phones and Twitter hadn't been invented yet.) Can you guess? It was the O.J. Simpson white Bronco chase, and today, June 17, is the 20th anniversary of that weird event in American pop culture.
There's been quite a bit of retrospective "where are they now?" coverage of the Simpson anniversary, and the trial itself has been credited with, or blamed for, giving birth to everything from reality television to the Kardashians. (Robert Kardashian, father of Kim, Kourtney, Khloé and Rob, and ex-husband of Kris, was one of O.J.'s best friends and served as a member of the "Dream" defense team. It was from his house that O.J. disappeared on the day of the Bronco chase.) If the Kardashian name hadn't become well known during the trial, would the E network have been willing to take a chance on a reality show about the family? No way to know, and anyway, I digress.
People who are old enough say that they'll "always remember where they were" when they first heard of JFK's assassination, the Challenger explosion and the events of 9/11. The white Bronco chase is sometimes included in that category, which tells you how big of a deal, or at least how surreal, it was at the time. The television networks all cut away from regular programming to show it live, presumably not wanting to miss the excitement if O.J. blew his brains out, which he apparently was threatening to do. Eventually he came home and surrendered to police, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history.
Twenty years later the world is different in all kinds of ways. Robert Kardashian's children rule the reality TV universe. We have a black family in the White House, not something that would have been predictable given the polarizing racial divisions the O.J. case exposed, and his attorneys exploited. And of course, O.J. is rotting in jail, although for a separate crime. A fitting outcome to a very strange story.
Curious, we walked over to see what was happening. What could possibly be so mesmerizing? (In those more innocent days, we didn't automatically assume that something terrible had happened. We also couldn't just check our phones. Smart phones and Twitter hadn't been invented yet.) Can you guess? It was the O.J. Simpson white Bronco chase, and today, June 17, is the 20th anniversary of that weird event in American pop culture.
There's been quite a bit of retrospective "where are they now?" coverage of the Simpson anniversary, and the trial itself has been credited with, or blamed for, giving birth to everything from reality television to the Kardashians. (Robert Kardashian, father of Kim, Kourtney, Khloé and Rob, and ex-husband of Kris, was one of O.J.'s best friends and served as a member of the "Dream" defense team. It was from his house that O.J. disappeared on the day of the Bronco chase.) If the Kardashian name hadn't become well known during the trial, would the E network have been willing to take a chance on a reality show about the family? No way to know, and anyway, I digress.
People who are old enough say that they'll "always remember where they were" when they first heard of JFK's assassination, the Challenger explosion and the events of 9/11. The white Bronco chase is sometimes included in that category, which tells you how big of a deal, or at least how surreal, it was at the time. The television networks all cut away from regular programming to show it live, presumably not wanting to miss the excitement if O.J. blew his brains out, which he apparently was threatening to do. Eventually he came home and surrendered to police, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history.
Twenty years later the world is different in all kinds of ways. Robert Kardashian's children rule the reality TV universe. We have a black family in the White House, not something that would have been predictable given the polarizing racial divisions the O.J. case exposed, and his attorneys exploited. And of course, O.J. is rotting in jail, although for a separate crime. A fitting outcome to a very strange story.
Monday, June 16, 2014
Prince George Walking
Looks like Prince George is getting ready to walk, a few weeks before his first birthday. These are some of the cute new pictures of the prince, taken at a polo ground on Father's Day. It's been 10 weeks since People used George on the cover; if that issue, dated April 9, sold well, we'll probably see George out front again this week.
In the "Things I Don't Care About" category, Miss North West turned one yesterday.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Anything New?
As part of CNN's "special series" called The Sixties, tonight's episode is all about the Kennedy assassination, and I'm wondering, can there really be anything new to say about this subject? I'm going to watch, or at least start to watch, and see if it holds my interest. I'm betting it's just same old, same old, but if I learn something new I'll let you know.
The Best Stuff On Earth?
It's now been a month since the Fed Up challenge to give up sugar for 10 days kicked off on May 12. As I've written before, I wasn't perfect at eliminating all the sugar in my diet but I did cut way back. And though the challenge is over, I'm continuing to monitor how much sugar I'm eating and keeping the amount as low as possible. And yes, I'm still making my own tomato sauce!
Because sugar is on my mind I occasionally do some random label-checking at the supermarket, even on items I'm not going to buy, just to see how much added sugar is really out there. Today's detective work was on a bottle of Snapple "Naturally Flavored Fruit Punch." Here's what was on the front label:
Juice Blend
Juice Drink
All Natural
Made from the Best Stuff on Earth
There's also a nice message on the back. It's written in first person although it's not clear who, exactly, is speaking. An elf in the juice factory perhaps? Anyway, here's what it says:
"Have you read that chart over there? Read it, I'll wait. Did you notice? NO artificial flavors. NO preservatives. Nothing like that in this bottle. Just real ingredients, which is why we say, Made from the best stuff on earth."
Got that? It's made from the best stuff on earth. What does the ingredient list say? Filtered water, followed by sugar, followed by some fruit juice concentrate. And what does the nutrition chart say? 47 grams of sugar per bottle, which is considered to be one serving. By comparison, a bag of regular M&Ms, with 30 grams of sugar, is almost a health food. Well, not exactly but it's better than Snapple.
The fact that the Snapple people are getting away with calling this colored sugar water the best stuff on earth, without getting laughed out of the grocery store, makes me both incredulous and volcanically pissed off. This is what we're up against in the fight to get healthy. Fed Up? You bet.
Because sugar is on my mind I occasionally do some random label-checking at the supermarket, even on items I'm not going to buy, just to see how much added sugar is really out there. Today's detective work was on a bottle of Snapple "Naturally Flavored Fruit Punch." Here's what was on the front label:
Juice Blend
Juice Drink
All Natural
Made from the Best Stuff on Earth
There's also a nice message on the back. It's written in first person although it's not clear who, exactly, is speaking. An elf in the juice factory perhaps? Anyway, here's what it says:
"Have you read that chart over there? Read it, I'll wait. Did you notice? NO artificial flavors. NO preservatives. Nothing like that in this bottle. Just real ingredients, which is why we say, Made from the best stuff on earth."
Got that? It's made from the best stuff on earth. What does the ingredient list say? Filtered water, followed by sugar, followed by some fruit juice concentrate. And what does the nutrition chart say? 47 grams of sugar per bottle, which is considered to be one serving. By comparison, a bag of regular M&Ms, with 30 grams of sugar, is almost a health food. Well, not exactly but it's better than Snapple.
The fact that the Snapple people are getting away with calling this colored sugar water the best stuff on earth, without getting laughed out of the grocery store, makes me both incredulous and volcanically pissed off. This is what we're up against in the fight to get healthy. Fed Up? You bet.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Jimmy Fallon
Surprise! It's one of the late-night Jimmys, which I totally didn't see coming. I did get all three of the sidebar stories. In my Guessing Game post I said that JLo isn't singing at the World Cup opening ceremony; apparently that was bad info. As of this morning reports are that she will indeed sing.
In Jimmy's honor, I'm posting this fun YouTube video from the 2010 Emmys.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
The Guessing Game
What will be on the cover of People magazine this week?
There's a lot going on in pop culture; I actually have no idea what People's editors will choose to put on the cover this week. Possibilities, in no particular order:
Tracy Morgan: Critically injured in a car accident
Amy Van Dyken: Severed her spine in an ATV accident
Paul McCartney: Postpones his USA tour for health reasons
Jennifer Lopez: Split from her much-younger boyfriend; isn't singing at the World Cup in Brazil
Queen Elizabeth: Attended D-Day commemorations at the age of 88
Khloé Kardashian: Pregnant with #3
Melanie Griffith/Antonio Bandaras: Melanie files for divorce
"Slender Man" Attack Victim: 12-year-old girl repeatedly stabbed by two friends
Emily Maynard: Former Bachelorette, married
Audra McDonald: Wins a record 6th Tony Award
Sandra Bullock: Intruder breaks into her house
Halle Berry: Settles custody dispute with ex-boyfriend; ordered to pay $16,000 per month in child support
David Beckham/Prince William: Teaming up to save wildlife
Hayden Panettiere: Pregnant
Ginger Zee: Good Morning, America's meteorologist got married
There's also almost certain to be some kind of 20-years-later coverage of the O.J. Simpson murder trial, if not this week then soon. Thursday, June 12th is the anniversary of the actual murders; the famous televised Bronco chase took place on the 17th.
Update: Olympic gold medalist Charlie White is engaged.
There's a lot going on in pop culture; I actually have no idea what People's editors will choose to put on the cover this week. Possibilities, in no particular order:
Tracy Morgan: Critically injured in a car accident
Amy Van Dyken: Severed her spine in an ATV accident
Paul McCartney: Postpones his USA tour for health reasons
Jennifer Lopez: Split from her much-younger boyfriend; isn't singing at the World Cup in Brazil
Queen Elizabeth: Attended D-Day commemorations at the age of 88
Khloé Kardashian: Pregnant with #3
Melanie Griffith/Antonio Bandaras: Melanie files for divorce
"Slender Man" Attack Victim: 12-year-old girl repeatedly stabbed by two friends
Emily Maynard: Former Bachelorette, married
Audra McDonald: Wins a record 6th Tony Award
Sandra Bullock: Intruder breaks into her house
Halle Berry: Settles custody dispute with ex-boyfriend; ordered to pay $16,000 per month in child support
David Beckham/Prince William: Teaming up to save wildlife
Hayden Panettiere: Pregnant
Ginger Zee: Good Morning, America's meteorologist got married
There's also almost certain to be some kind of 20-years-later coverage of the O.J. Simpson murder trial, if not this week then soon. Thursday, June 12th is the anniversary of the actual murders; the famous televised Bronco chase took place on the 17th.
Update: Olympic gold medalist Charlie White is engaged.
Media Literacy: Is This News?
The lead story on Good Morning, America today was the death of five Americans in Afghanistan, likely the result of friendly fire. The second story was Robin Roberts' interview with Hillary Clinton. The third story was a high-speed police chase and stand-off in Los Angeles. Really, ABC? This is really the third most important thing happening in America this morning?
Well, you say, it's big news because of all the people the driver shot when he finally got out of his car. Nope, no one got hurt. Oh. Well, then, it's because of the six-car pile-up that happened when the driver crashed into a semi-truck. No, no crash. Oh. Well, it's news because the suspect killed himself, blew up the house he was hiding in and took out half the neighborhood. Nope again. He eventually walked out of the house and followed police instructions to prostrate himself on the ground.
So why, exactly, was this considered "news"? Because there was video.
Contrast that with the Amy Van Dyken story. Van Dyken, who won six Olympic gold medals in swimming at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, had an accident in an ATV on Friday and severed her spine. That sounds pretty serious and I was expecting ABC to cover it on this morning's show. (There was no info about the accident over the week-end, it just started to come out last night.) GMA mentioned it eventually, but not until the 8.00 hour, which is less about hard news and more about boy bands and cute kitten videos. Why wasn't it covered in the "hard news" section at 7.00? No video. If there had been dramatic, scary and, to use one of GMA's favorite words, "terrifying" cellphone video of the accident it probably have been the lead story.
The phrase I use to describe all this is "dumbed down and sexed up." That pretty much describes the information we get from all commercially-sponsored, ratings-driven media, whether it's TV news, cable news, websites, dead-tree magazines or yes, snarky bloggers. A high speed police chase can be exciting to watch but is it news? Not even close.
Well, you say, it's big news because of all the people the driver shot when he finally got out of his car. Nope, no one got hurt. Oh. Well, then, it's because of the six-car pile-up that happened when the driver crashed into a semi-truck. No, no crash. Oh. Well, it's news because the suspect killed himself, blew up the house he was hiding in and took out half the neighborhood. Nope again. He eventually walked out of the house and followed police instructions to prostrate himself on the ground.
So why, exactly, was this considered "news"? Because there was video.
Contrast that with the Amy Van Dyken story. Van Dyken, who won six Olympic gold medals in swimming at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, had an accident in an ATV on Friday and severed her spine. That sounds pretty serious and I was expecting ABC to cover it on this morning's show. (There was no info about the accident over the week-end, it just started to come out last night.) GMA mentioned it eventually, but not until the 8.00 hour, which is less about hard news and more about boy bands and cute kitten videos. Why wasn't it covered in the "hard news" section at 7.00? No video. If there had been dramatic, scary and, to use one of GMA's favorite words, "terrifying" cellphone video of the accident it probably have been the lead story.
The phrase I use to describe all this is "dumbed down and sexed up." That pretty much describes the information we get from all commercially-sponsored, ratings-driven media, whether it's TV news, cable news, websites, dead-tree magazines or yes, snarky bloggers. A high speed police chase can be exciting to watch but is it news? Not even close.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Blogging To Work
After a few days away from this blog, I now have a new post up at the other blog:
A Level Playing Field
I've got lots of interesting things in the draft of this week's Guessing Game post; watch for it tomorrow.
A Level Playing Field
I've got lots of interesting things in the draft of this week's Guessing Game post; watch for it tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Hillary!
Wow, I didn't even think of Hillary Clinton, although I did know she has a book coming out later this week. There's also a big interview with Diane Sawyer coming on Monday night. It's deemed to be so important that it's pre-empting The Bachelorette! So how much of Hill's big media tour is just about selling books, and how much is laying the groundwork for another presidential run? Inquiring minds want to know, that's for sure!
Separately, I was so hoping we were done with the Ks, at least for a while. All snarkiness aside, I also wish stories about people gaining and losing weight would just go away, once and for all. At least they didn't run an unflattering picture.
Update: I thought it would be fun to post another Hillary cover, this one from May 10, 1993.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
The Guessing Game
What will be on the cover of People magazine this week?
Now that the big wedding's finally fading from the media landscape, there are lots of possibilities:
Maya Angelou: I'd love it if she got the cover after passing away last week but realistically she may be outside of People's primary demographic, which is a tactful way of saying "too old." Sad.
Tom Cruise: His new movie, Edge of Tomorrow, opens Friday.
Lupita Nyong'o: Joined the cast of Star Wars
Hayden Panettiere: I saw articles saying she's pregnant but as far as I can tell it hasn't been confirmed.
George Clooney: It may be too soon for another Gorgeous George cover but there's talk about a wedding in September, as well as a possible career switch to politics.
Laverne Cox: Transgender star of Orange is the New Black, currently featured on the cover of Time magazine
Bethenny Frankel: In the middle of a nasty custody battle; testified in court about how awful her marriage was
Melissa Ethridge: Married
Bowe Bergdhal: The controversial soldier released from Afghanistan
Ann B. Davis: The Brady Bunch's Alice dies at age 88
There are a few other stories that struck me as interesting, but really, it's possible that no one else cares: Al Gore's son got married, Levi Johnston announced he's going to be a father for the third time, and most interesting to me, Princess Charlene of Monaco is finally pregnant.
Mid-morning update: Kasey Kasem, elderly, sick and lots of family drama
And one more: The Bachelorette: Eric Hill, the contestant who died a few weeks after he left the show, was featured last night in his final episodes before leaving. It was a lot more real than this show usually gets.
Now that the big wedding's finally fading from the media landscape, there are lots of possibilities:
Maya Angelou: I'd love it if she got the cover after passing away last week but realistically she may be outside of People's primary demographic, which is a tactful way of saying "too old." Sad.
Tom Cruise: His new movie, Edge of Tomorrow, opens Friday.
Lupita Nyong'o: Joined the cast of Star Wars
Hayden Panettiere: I saw articles saying she's pregnant but as far as I can tell it hasn't been confirmed.
George Clooney: It may be too soon for another Gorgeous George cover but there's talk about a wedding in September, as well as a possible career switch to politics.
Laverne Cox: Transgender star of Orange is the New Black, currently featured on the cover of Time magazine
Bethenny Frankel: In the middle of a nasty custody battle; testified in court about how awful her marriage was
Melissa Ethridge: Married
Bowe Bergdhal: The controversial soldier released from Afghanistan
Ann B. Davis: The Brady Bunch's Alice dies at age 88
There are a few other stories that struck me as interesting, but really, it's possible that no one else cares: Al Gore's son got married, Levi Johnston announced he's going to be a father for the third time, and most interesting to me, Princess Charlene of Monaco is finally pregnant.
Mid-morning update: Kasey Kasem, elderly, sick and lots of family drama
And one more: The Bachelorette: Eric Hill, the contestant who died a few weeks after he left the show, was featured last night in his final episodes before leaving. It was a lot more real than this show usually gets.
Monday, June 2, 2014
That's Not How We Do Things In England
The king of Spain announced today that he is abdicating his throne, thereby elevating his son Felipe to the role of king at the age of 46. He's the third European monarch to "retire" in the last year and a half and every time it happens, royalty watchers turn their eyes to England and whisper "Will Elizabeth be the next to go?" Snarkier observers turn their eyes to Prince Charles, who turns 66 in November, and imagine him saying "When will it be my turn?"
So who's the woman on the horse in the picture above? Why it's the Queen herself, out for her daily ride and looking pretty good at age 88. No abdication here. It's probably just a coincidence that this picture was released on the very same day King Juan Carlos said good-bye but I think it's at least possible that the Queen, or more likely members of her staff, wanted to send a subtle message that says "Don't even think about it."
By-the-way, the longest-serving British monarch was Queen Victoria, who reigned for 63 years and 217 days. Barring disaster, this Queen will surpass that record in September, 2015.
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