Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Is Peter The Next Bachelor?, Part 2

Reality Steve now says yes:


59 minutes after this tweet was sent out, Mike Fleiss responded with this: (Does Mike Fleiss read/follow Reality Steve? Oh you bet he does.)


As a reminder, back on August 17, People published an article saying that producers had fallen out of love with Peter and there was no way he was getting the job:

“Peter is every Bachelor producer’s worst nightmare: the perfect guy who cannot be coerced into proposing at the end,” shares the insider. “The fact that no one could talk Peter into buckling under and just giving her the ring — and that he wouldn’t play along — absolutely enraged the higher-ups at the show. Including Fleiss, definitely. He is totally on their s— list forever, and there is no way they will reward him with a shot at The Bachelor. No way.” (Read the story here.) 

At the time, Reality Steve claimed that Peter had in fact turned down the job offer and this "we don't like him anymore" leak to People was just some face-saving propaganda from producers. Now it appears that Peter may have changed his mind. (Or successfully played hard-enough-to-get to negotiate a higher salary or some other perks.)

I'm not sure what would be more "shocking" at this point, that Peter is the Bachelor, or that he isn't. If he isn't, who is? The answer to that could be shocking, if, for example, they again broke the pattern of picking the new Bach from the most recent season of The Bachelorette and looked farther afield. Wells? Ben Zorn? Ben Higgins 2.0?

Is Peter the new Bachelor? Apparently we'll know soon. Will we be shocked? Maybe.  

If you're curious, Peter now has 547,000 Instagram followers and this is his most recent post:


You can read "Is Peter The New Bachelor, Part 1," here

Leah Remini

Issue dated September 11, 2017: Leah Remini



Leah Remini gets the cover this week, her second "I left Scientology" cover in less than two years. The timing of this cover may be related the fact that she's returning to network television in the fall, reuniting with her The King of Queens co-star Kevin James on his CBS sitcom Kevin Can Wait. Taylor Swift was on my guessing game list; True Crime/Kidnapped Girl and Baby Joy stories round out this week's cover.

This is Remini's previous cover, dated November 16, 2015:

Leah Remini Opens up to PEOPLE About Leaving Scientology

Last year at this time: Issue dated September 12, 2016. This
cover story sure didn't age well, did it?
Rob Kardashian Finally Speaks: 'Blac Chyna Got Me Through My Darkest Times'| Couples, Engagements, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Reality TV, People Picks, TV News, Blac Chyna, Rob Kardashian

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Taking Over The World

Image result for the bachelor
image: wikipedia

There are currently four Bachelor Nation stories at People.com:

Another Bachelorette Baby! Emily Maynard Johnson Expecting Fourth Child -- See Her Growing Bump

Vanessa Grimaldi Says "It's Okay to Feel Broken" After Split from The Bachelor's Nick Viall

"She's Dead to Me": Bachelor in Paradise Frenemies Feud over the Same Contestant Before He Makes Shocking Exit

Sean Lowe Drives Boat Throughout Flooded Houston in Effort to Help Victims of Hurricane Harvey: "My Heart Broke" 

It amazes me how effectively ABC and executive producer Mike Fleiss have built the "Bachelor" brand. Survivor, American Idol 1.0 or the upcoming 2.0, Big Brother, none of the other big reality shows have anything close to this kind of pop culture footprint. Even the BIP scandal earlier this summer, which put the manipulated unreal tackiness of it all out there for everyone to see, didn't come close to stopping the Bachelor train.

Monday, August 28, 2017

Editors Are Important

I read the entire story looking for the "historic typo" before I realized it was in the headline. It should be "Dramatic Rescues." #EditorsAreImportant

Sunday, August 27, 2017

This Day In History, 2008: Democrats Nominate Barack Obama For President


This Day In History, 1964: Mary Poppins Premieres

A post shared by Hollywood Reporter (@hollywoodreporter) on

Saturday, August 26, 2017

The Guessing Game

Sunday morning update:
Floyd Mayweather: Something about a fight...

Original post:
What will be on the cover of People this week? My guesses:

Louise Linton: The Treasury Secretary's wife has a Marie Antoinette moment on Instagram
Jonathan Schmitz: Released from jail after 22 years, was confronted with a gay secret admirer on the Jenny Jones show in 1995, and later killed him
Mavis Wanczyk: Wins $758 million PowerBall jackpot
Prince George: Starting school in London
Robert Lee: ESPN sportscaster removed from calling UVA football game due to his name, similar to "Robert E. Lee"
Malia Obama and/or Tiffany Trump: Presidential daughters starting college (Malia) and law school (Tiffany)
Elian Gonzalez: Now an adult, wants to meet his Miami relatives
Nick Viall and Vanessa Grimaldi: The most recent Bachelor couple ends their engagement
Jay Z and Beyonce: Talking about the twins, moving into a new house
Joe Arpaio: Arizona sheriff receives a controversial pardon from the president
Hurricane Harvey: Human interest stories after the category 4 hurricane hits Texas
Taylor Swift: A new song

Half-baked



I disagree with this pardon on every level, in fact I find it to be rage-inducing. I also have to gleefully point out that this official proclamation from the Office of the Press Secretary displays this White House's usual sloppy and careless unprofessionalism. The final phrase should read "he is *a* worthy candidate for a Presidential pardon." (Even though, of course, he isn't.)

Friday, August 25, 2017

No Comment


Nick And Vanessa Are Done



When Nick's finale aired in March, I estimated that they wouldn't last until June 1. I was wrong about that, they almost made it to September 1. (And just to clarify the text in People's tweet, their engagement aired in March, but was filmed last November.) This isn't that big of a surprise in Bachelor Nation, I would think, because N and V always seemed a little bit off. After spending more time than anyone else on various Bach franchise shows, what will Nick do next?

Thursday, August 24, 2017

There/Their/They're and To/Too/Two: So Confusing For POTUS



What the POTUS meant to say was "Well, there was Afghanistan..." and "Too bad the Dems..."

As usual, the tweets have been corrected. Also as usual, the screenshots and retweets will live forever.

"I Used A Cracker..."

Used A Cracker
photo credit: HomerC

Who needs official ISO glasses when you can watch the eclipse through a cracker. Love it!

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

I.M.P.E.A.C.H.




These days it's not enough to send the president a letter saying you're resigning. To be really cool you've got to embed a message in the first letter of each paragraph. It started when the President's Committee on Arts and Humanities resigned en masse, with a letter that spelled out R.E.S.I.S.T. Read about that here.

Fun With Headlines

Headline writers at CNN.com are having some fun this morning:

President spent 77 minutes at his campaign rally to deliver fact-free retellings of recent historical events

"Total eclipse of the facts" (A quote from anchor Don Lemon)

On a more serious note, there's also this:

Former national intelligence director questions Trump's fitness for office
This isn't the first "Is he fit?" article I've seen and there are bound to be more.

Update:
Trump in Arizona shows just how unfit he is Jennifer Rubin at the Washington Post

This Day In History, 1992: Hurricane Andrew

Update #2, Saturday morning: Obviously I wasn't paying enough attention to the Weather Channel Wednesday morning when I first posted this. Harvey, a very large storm indeed, was out there gathering strength and has now invaded Texas with wind, rain, tornadoes and thunderstorms. Will we see more big storms before the season is over? My guess? Yes.  

Update #1: Also on this day, in 2007, #thefirsthashtag:


Original post:



I remember this well, although I wasn't in Florida. I was in India, watching fuzzy international coverage on a small television. No following along on Twitter in those days! Forecasters have said this should be a stronger than usual year for hurricanes but so far no big storms have formed. Is the next Andrew waiting somewhere out in the Atlantic?

The Property Brothers

Late morning update: He didn't get the main People cover story, but The Hollywood Reporter gives Jerry Lewis the full Dead Celebrity treatment:



Original post:
Issue dated September 4, 2017: The Property Brothers


This is the second cover for Jonathan and Drew and the sixth HGTV cover in the past year. This one is tied to a new book by the Scott brothers called It Takes Two: Our Story, to be published in September. (See their April 10 cover here.) Dead Celebrity Jerry Lewis gets a sidebar story.

Last year at this time it was the Gosselins, the Duggars, Ryan Lochte's scandal and Adele. Issue dated September 5, 2016
Kate Gosselin Recalls one Regret From Her Time on Reality TV

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Trump Incompetence


Monday, August 21, 2017

This Day In History, 1987: The Premiere Of Dirty Dancing



Dirty Dancing turns 30! Here's what I said five years ago on the 25th anniversary:

Dirty Dancing is 25 years old! The movie premiered on August 21, 1987, and after all these years, you may not know that it wasn't supposed to be a hit. It was made on a tiny budget, by not-well-known producers and directors, and even Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey weren't all that famous at the time. Roger Ebert hated it, but much to pretty much everyone's surprise, the movie caught on. The music was catching and people were seeing it again and again, and this was back when you couldn't just call it up on Netflix or pop in the 10th anniversary DVD - if you wanted to see Dirty Dancing you had to actually go to the movies.

So Happy Anniversary to Baby and Johnny! She's still like the wind, love is still strange and you still don't own me. I'm still having the time of my life, and nobody puts Baby in a corner.

This Day In History, 1959: Hawaii Becomes The 50th State

Image result for hawaii
photo credit: cruiseweb.com

Hawaii became our 50th state on August 21, 1959. Aloha!

Total Eclipse Of The... Sun


Coolest "eclipse" thing happening today? Bonnie Tyler is on a cruise ship out in the middle of the Atlantic. As the boat passes through totality, Tyler will sing her iconic song.

And how about the first sentence in this 1932 New York Times article:

Sunday, August 20, 2017

A Thousand Words

Monday morning update: Another picture of the president, taken as he arrived back at the White House last night. He doesn't look like he's having much fun, does he?


photo credit: J. David Ake/AP

Original post:
Some people are saying that The Donald doesn't really like being president -- it's too much work and too little mindless adoration. This picture makes it look like they're right. Seriously, POTUS. Why the scowl?

The Guessing Game

What will be on the cover of People this week? My guesses:

Jerry Lewis: Died today at age 91. Some news reports are calling him "legendary" but my guess is younger readers probably aren't familiar with his work. Will People give him the full "Dead Celebrity" treatment?
Jared Tucker: American man killed in Barcelona terror attack
Heather Heyer: Killed in Charlottesville. Another possibility is her mother, Susan Bro, who is refusing to speak with the president
Steve Bannon: One of Trump's most controversial staffers, either left or was fired from his White House job
Peter, Eric, Dean, Luke, Chase, Robby, Wells, Ben Z., etc. Who will be the next Bachelor? In other Bach Nation news, newlyweds Carly and Evan have announced that they're expecting a girl
Robin Thicke: His 22-year-old girlfriend is pregnant
The Kardashians: October marks 10 years since their mothership show Keeping Up With The Kardashians debuted. The Hollywood Reporter has a major cover story about all things K (read it here)

Saturday, August 19, 2017

The Sole Of A Nation?

Once again, the president had some trouble with spelling in a tweet. Here's the first attempt:


And here's the second: (He fixed "decades" and the spacing, but "heal" is still misspelled.)



This is the final version:





Friday, August 18, 2017

Gone Boys

USA-TRUMP/BANNON
photo credit: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

What's wrong with this picture, taken in the Oval Office on January 28? All four of the non-elected staff members pictured are now gone from the president's staff.

The New York Post is also having some fun with its July 28 "Survivor" front  page:


This Day In History, 1920: Women Get The Right To Vote


Thursday, August 17, 2017

Is Peter The Next Bachelor?

Possibly not. Word on the street has been that Peter is the front-runner, but now Bach exec producer (and king of Bachelor Nation) Mike Fleiss has sent out a tweet that would appear to indicate otherwise:

This wouldn't be the first time Fleiss or other producers have tried to gin up suspense about something that's already a done deal, but People.com says they really are over Peter:

Though host Chris Harrison has said no choice about The Bachelor‘s leading man will be made until after Bachelor in Paradise finishes up its current season, a source now tells PEOPLE that Fleiss’ tweet is absolutely aimed at the Wisconsin-born personal trainer.

“Peter is every Bachelor producer’s worst nightmare: the perfect guy who cannot be coerced into proposing at the end,” shares the insider. “The fact that no one could talk Peter into buckling under and just giving her the ring — and that he wouldn’t play along — absolutely enraged the higher-ups at the show. Including Fleiss, definitely. He is totally on their s— list forever, and there is no way they will reward him with a shot at The Bachelor. No way.” 

The source adds, “Even if they weren’t so mad, his unwillingness to play by the rules of the game has them afraid he’d be another Brad Womack or, worse, Juan Pablo [Galavis]. Not gonna happen.” (Read the article here.)

If not Peter, who? Eric? Dean? Wells, who is currently serving as the bartender for Bachelor In Paradise? Robby, who now describes himself as a "social media influencer"? Ben Zorn? Luke or Chase, who didn't get the job last summer? Ben Higgins? If it really isn't Peter, then every still- (or once again) single alum of The Bach'ette and BIP will now be scrambling to, as I've said before, "pull a Nick" and get the big job as the next Bachelor.  

I admit that I'm more interested in who the next Bachelor will be than in any of the various potential couples currently frolicking in the sun on BIP. Hang on, rosebuds, hang on. Things are about to get juicy...  

The Economist Weighs In

Update #2: Here's the New Yorker cover:


Late morning update: See, I'm not the only one who finds the view of the world as seen through magazine covers intriguing:

Read the WaPo article here.

Original post:

That image is on the cover of the magazine's latest issue:

A Better Wig

"Why doesn't this Chief Executive wear a better wig?" Tim Naftali, New York University history professor, imagining what George Washington and Thomas Jefferson might have thought about Donald Trump.

A funny moment from an otherwise serious e-mail conversation between CNN political reporter Chris Cillizza and Professor Naftali. Read it here.

I Wonder Why Not...

Brian Stelter is CNN's media reporter. He sent this tweet out at 7.49 this morning:

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

This Day In History, 1977: Elvis Presley Dies At 42

Issue dated August 29, 1977: Marty Feldman (Who?)
Image result for Marty Feldman on People cover 1977

In People magazine's 20th Anniversary commemorative issue, published in Spring, 1994, then-managing editor Dick Stolley says that this cover was his biggest mistake. Why? Elvis Presley had just died. In 1977, the whole "Dead Celebrity" hysteria thing hadn't started yet and poor Elvis only got one paragraph, in the magazine's "Star Tracks" section.

Thee years later John Lennon's death in 1980 was the magazine's first Dead Celebrity cover. At the time of the 20th anniversary issue in 1994, it was the magazine's best-selling issue ever.

Audrey Hepburn

Issue dated August 28, 2017: Audrey Hepburn


Audrey Hepburn is the main cover story this week, with an article tied to an upcoming Christie's auction of some of her belongings. Taylor Swift was on my guessing game list; when I heard about Glen Campbell's death I intended to put him on the list too, but it slipped my mind. Last year it was all about the Olympics.

Last year at this time: Issue dated August 29, 2016
Image result for People magazine August 2017 Americas sweethearts

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Beverage Of Choice?


This is actually from yesterday; I'm posting it because of the Tab, of course.

Monday, August 14, 2017

The Guessing Game

Update #1:
Ginger Zee: Expecting baby #2, a boy.

Original post:
What will be on the cover of People this week? My guesses:

Charlottesville: Three people killed, many injuries, silence from the president. A sad day for America
Peter Cvjetanovic: The obnoxious little white supremacist who's embarrassed that a picture of his frothing hate-filled face has now gone viral (see it here)
Brad and Angelina: Rumors the divorce is off, are they reconciling?
Tom Cruise: Injured while performing a stunt on-set
Jason Miller and/or AJ Delgado: Former Trump campaign staffers had an affair last Fall, the baby was born in July, the story bubbled to the surface last week. (I wrote about it here)
Taylor Swift: She accused a DJ of groping her, he sued her for getting him fired, closing arguments start today
Scott Peterson: Tapes of a phone call from prison
LuAnn de Lesseps: A divorce after seven months
Shonda Rhimes: Moving her business to Netflix
Juan Pablo Galavis: The least-popular Bachelor got married
The Solar Eclipse: Excitement is building, hundreds of thousands of people are taking to the road to be in the path of totality

Sunday, August 13, 2017

Nephew-Nazi

Note: I removed the update, it looks as if it was fake. Apologies.

Original post:

They're still struggling with that whole "proofread for spelling" thing.

See my previous post about this here.

I Miss Him Too

Wednesday morning update: President Obama's 8/12 tweet is now the most Liked tweet ever.

Original post:
It's always fascinating to me when a Republican praises President Obama.


And this is the tweet Mr. Painter was referring to:

Thursday, August 10, 2017

When AJ Met Jason... Episode 1 - Updated

Given the events of the last couple of weeks, you could be forgiven for thinking that Anthony Scaramucci, aka The Mooch, was the shortest-serving Communications Director in the Trump White House, while having the most "colorful" personal life. You would, however, be wrong.

That title goes to Jason Miller, who was appointed to the job during the transition in December then resigned two days later saying that after almost two years on the campaign, he needed to spend more time with his family. Sweet, right? Well, no. AJ Delgado, a (female) staffer from the Trump campaign put out a couple of (since-deleted) tweets congratulating Miller on the new job while calling him the "baby daddy" and comparing him to John Edwards. There was buzz that the two of them had been seen partying together in Las Vegas the night before the third Trump-Clinton debate. Yikes.

Confession: I enjoy a juicy political sex scandal (does that make me a bad person?) and it looked like this was going to be a good one. What happened next? Nothing. The story disappeared and it looked like everyone involved had decided that discreet silence was the best policy. At the time I even considered the possibility that the gossip had been wrong.

Wrong again. A moment of silence, please, for those long-ago days of discretion and privacy because they are so over. The story bubbled to the surface today and it isn't pretty. Delgado announced via tweet on Tuesday that she gave birth to a son on July 10. Yesterday Miller provided the following statement to Page Six:

“My wife and I, along with our two daughters, are excited to welcome William into the world and into our family, and we appreciate the well wishes we’ve received from so many.”

Delgado responded with this: (i.e., What do you mean "your" family?) 


To counter press coverage implying that the baby was conceived during a one-night stand in Las Vegas, Delgado has said that she had a two-month relationship with Miller, who told her that he was separated from his wife at the time. He did not, presumably, tell her that his wife, from whom he either was or was not actually separated, was pregnant. (That baby was born in January and it appears that Jason Miller is still with his wife.)  

You can read more here: 


If all of this makes you long for the charm and classiness of Anthony Scaramucci, never fear. He'll be talking to George Stephanopoulos live on Sunday morning and to Stephen Colbert on The Late Show Monday evening. 

If you want to know more about the Miller-Delgado scandal, stay tuned. She's apparently spilling the beans to The Atlantic reporter McKay Coppins:
Friday morning update: Here's some of the backstory, from a Politico article dated Christmas Day, 2016:

The matter has caused turmoil within the Trump operation over the past week. After POLITICO reporters received an anonymous email about the alleged affair, Delgado disclosed details of the relationship to senior officials in emails Thursday, the people close to the transition said. The nature of their relationship had been known to people involved in the Trump campaign and transition for “a number of months,” one source said.

In October, the New York Post’s Page Six reported that Delgado and Miller, along with members of the media, had been spotted at a Las Vegas strip club the night before the campaign’s final debate. The New York Times reported last month that Miller offered to resign after that incident, but the offer was rejected.

Delgado is an attorney and conservative commentator who frequently defended Trump on cable networks during the campaign. Miller joined Trump’s operation after advising Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) failed presidential campaign.

Miller, 41, informed top Trump officials of his decision to step down on Friday night. 

The reversal followed a period of indecision for Miller. He had been encouraged to take the job of communications director, which oversees messaging strategy in the White House, by a number of top officials, including incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon, according to sources. Miller had also weighed taking a more lucrative post in the private sector. (Read the article here.)

This Day In History, 1993: The Notorious RBG

Ruth Bader Ginsburg 2016 portrait.jpg

On August 10, 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Rachel And Bryan

Finally, I found a cut-and-pasteable image of the finished version of the "Rachel and Bryan" cover, dated August 21, 2017:
Image result for people magazine cover bachelorette rachel

And one more thing: Just a reminder that if Rachel was telling Bryan that she's in love with him and he knows he's going to win in the end, the long, agonizing conversation with Peter was just playacting for television. Rachel going through the motions until it was time for Bryan to propose; Peter trying to thread the needle of not having to actually propose while still coming across as appealing enough to get the job as the next Bachelor.

Thursday morning update: Bryan's Instagram feed has a "what you didn't see on TV" picture this morning, featuring a "Dr. Abs and Big Rach" jersey he gave Rachel during their first date in Spain (which I believe was the fantasy suite date.) He also spills the beans on another behind-the-scenes secret. Apparently Rachel ended the suspense early and let him know he would be the last man standing. Are show producers rolling their eyes this morning, preferring Bryan had been a little less honest about how things really work? My guess? Yes.  

Original post:
Issue dated August 21, 2017: Rachel and Bryan


Rachel and her fiance Bryan are the main cover story this week, no surprise, along with a sidebar headline about runner-up Peter. Interestingly, Peter's headline isn't about him being the next Bachelor, it simply says "Why Peter is devastated now." Is Peter the next Bachelor? I still think it's his gig to lose if he wants it (and my perception is that he does,) in spite of the shade Rachel threw at him during their much, much too long conversation during the finale Monday night.

Note that this mock-up cover looks like it's "all Bachelorette" this week but there's also a final version of the cover at people.com, which includes stories about the Chris Pratt/Anna Faris break-up, Maria Sharapova, and the heroin epidemic.

Note also that last summer's "JoJo and Jordan" cover that I've posted a couple of times recently was also just a mock-up. The final version included a DWTS wedding, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, and the Chandra Levi murder case.



Last year at this time: Issue dated August 22, 2016
Justice for JonBenΓ©t? A New Look at the Evidence and the Suspects

What Planet Are They On?

Image result for trump children

I finally had a chance to read the article accompanying People's July 31 cover story about the Trumps and it's about what you would expect. The three oldest children, Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric, compete for their father's attention but are very close. They love their father and are desperate for [his] approval. Don Jr. can't wait for these four years to be over. Then there was this:

A family friend says the Trump children "just assumed that once everything died down, they would be loved as the First Family who came in as outsiders and shook everything up. It's impossible for them to process that people haven't embraced them."

Wow. And one more thing. The picture above was taken at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Trump International Hotel in Washington in July, 2014. It's the picture People used for the cover story, except they cropped out Eric (and slotted in a separate picture of Jared with Dad,) and again I'm wondering. Was Eric relieved or annoyed to not see his charming face on the cover of People?