Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Big Day

So, having written a book all about marriage pressure I felt it was my duty as an author to watch this show. It was so-so at best. A few things that got under my skin:
1. Who are these people with houses large enough to host a fancy, schmancy wedding?
2. Why does the daughter think that by reclaiming her salad choice, Caesar, she is making some big statement? Aside from the fact that her mom (played by the always awesome Wendy Malick) is right about Caesar not being a good choice (stinky breath, anyone?) it is just ridiculous that the daughter thinks that by having the dining details that she wants she is making some big statement of independence. She just came off like a spoiled brat. She is having mommy and daddy foot the bill for a fancy wedding and she is going to fall on her sword over a salad choice? I think that the writers are like, "crap, this has to last for 20 episodes. Hey, let's do a whole subplot about salad....yeah...it can be like a symbol..."
3. The whole "real time" thing told me a few things: a. I now know exactly how many minutes of commercials are jam-packed into the show. At one point it was 4 minutes of program to 4 minutes of commercial. b. I would rather poke my eyes out than watch this girl's wedding day spread out over 20 or so episodes.

A fairly decent show did premiere last night. It's called "My Boys" and is on at 10pm on TBS. The sports metaphors get a little tiresome, but I laughed a few times. The show is about a woman who is a sportswriter and has nearly all male friends. The writing is good and the characters are promising. Definitely better than "Big Day."

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

If they can't make it work, who can?

I am stunned, stunned about the Pam Anderson and Kid Rock divorce. Ok, maybe not really stunned. My favorite headline came from the NY Daily News (link above) who titled their "piece" "Four Weddings- And Then Divorce."

What is up with the 4 weddings thing? They had their white trash boat party, then had a small courthouse wedding and then they had a ceremony in each of their hometowns. What is that about? I understand (sort of) when people have one ceremony in a native country and one in an adopted one but, really....4? Let's hope that this is not a celeb thing that catches on. Imagine how boring your Lobridemized friend will be when she has 4 ceremonies to plan. yikes.

A final thought/question: How does the Kid still have money? I know that he is a corporate schill and had Ba Wit Da Ba, but how far can that dough spread?

Thursday, November 16, 2006

When Single Girls Get Their Due


A couple of years back, I had friends over for a barbecue in my "backyard," which anywhere else besides Brooklyn would really just be a 10-foot patch of broken concrete and dirt. My married friends Taylor and Tina were there, and Taylor wanted to make one of his specialty cocktails. He came into the kitchen and asked for some bougie single-use kitchen gadget thing-y, that, let's face it, only someone who was married and had registered at Williams Sonoma would own.

I have the chipped Ikea plates my friends gave me after they got their fancy-ass Moss set. After my cleaning woman told me I would get cancer from my cheap Teflon-coated pans, I finally asked for Wusthof knives and some Calphalon last Christmas.

It's one of the most common complaints of the Bridal Wave Years. We're so busy buying everyone else fabulous gifts to celebrate their big days, that we're too broke to buy any of the good stuff for ourselves.

Remember the Sex and the City episode where Carrie's Jimmy Choo shoes get stolen while she's at a party for friends with a new baby? The new mom is less-than-symphathetic, and judges her for spending so much on shoes. Carrie adds up over the years how much she must have spent on other people's bridal showers, wedding gifts, baby showers, baby gifts, and decides she's going to get married for payback--to herself. She sends the announcement to her friend and lets her know she's registered at Jimmy Choo.

Well, we've got good news for you. Random House wants you to go out and buy something fabulous for YOU. Not your frenemy who's wedding you have to go, not your second cousin Mary's bridal shower, not your sister's baby's Christening.

Tell us your best/worst bridesmaid story and you will be entered in our “Single Girl’s Registry!” Send an e-mail to rhpg@randomhouse.com
with the subject line “Bridal Wave”. Courtesy of The Random House Publishing Group, the winner will receive a gift card so she can buy something fabulous—for herself!

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Can Britney Come Back?

I just read an article on USA Today about Britney's new bod and new bob signaling a come back. I am just not sure she can come back. As a friend put it, "she is America's Sweetheart," but I wonder, can America's Sweetheart can have two kids by a sleazebag and a sex tape on the way?

Now I loved the Britney/Matt Lauer interview. I thought that she let her trashy flag fly and I was thrilled. Britney without a publicist rocked. I just hope she doesn't try to get all classy now that fed ex has left the buiding.

Do you think she can come back? Or is Britney doomed to a life of judging regional children's beauty pageants?

Monday, November 13, 2006

Borat dupes suing for being idiots

I am loving these stories of people suing 20th Century Fox and the producers of Borat. I am especially interested in the frat boys that are suing because they say that the producers got them drunk before filming the RV scene, and told them that the film would not air in the states. They are the ones who talked about what a shame it was that there was no more slavery.

They are idiots and now everyone knows how idiotic they are, and they are suing the filmmakers? Sounds like a case of In vino veritas to me.

I did not think that I would love Borat as much as I did, and now that the lawsuits are coming, I like it even more.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

If the call center is in India, why are their hours 9-5 PST?

So my friend Tad was in town for production and staying at the Standard on Sunset. Because I am too cheap to dial his international number from my cell phone I called information to get the number. First I got that, oh, sooo annoying recording that asks you to say the city, state and listing. "Los Angeles, CA. Standard Hotel on Sunset," I said.

"Please hold while we transfer your call to a specialist," the automated woman told me. Specialist??? Wha???? Whatever happened to an operator? And why oh why do they bother with that first step? Has anyone ever gotten the number from the automated woman and NOT had to speak with a specialist?

I hear a woman pick up and I begin to say that I am looking for the hotel on Sunset, not Downtown when I am abruptly cut off and told that I am being connected. Why would they even need a specialist to do that? The phone rings and I am connected to the Standard in Downtown LA. AARRGGHH. The Downtown Standard cannot transfer me and I cannot memorize the number they give me because I am driving. I hang up and decide to call the operator again to credit back the last call. The "specialist" cannot do that. I have to call Customer Service.

Next I go through a number of "press 1 if you are calling about number blah blah.....press 2 if this is a billing question" and so on. Of course I hit "0" repeatedly to get to a live human being. After my call is transferred, I find out that their hours of operation are 9-5. It is 10:00pm.

Which brings me to my original question. If we are going to outsource, couldnt't someone answer the phone at 10pm?

I called customer service the next day and got both calls credited back. Yes, I am that cheap.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Stephanie Coontz's Op-Ed "Too Close for Comfort"

I really liked Stephanie Coontz's NYT Op-Ed today, responding to the headlines a few weeks ago about the "death" of marriage.

Coontz brings up the recent sociological study by Duke University and University of Arizona scholars that cites the decline in Americans' close relationships outside the family. She argues that in part because of the economy, which has both increased the number of hours people work and the number of partnerships where both people work full-time means that social time outside of work has largely been reduced. In other words, after you and your fiance put in 50 hours a week, if he heads for a "guys night out" instead of home to you on his first free night, there's going to be some trouble.


Coontz says:
Paradoxically, we can strengthen our marriages the most by not expecting them to be our sole refuge from the pressures of the modern work force. Instead we need to restructure both work and social life so we can reach out and build ties with others, including people who are single or divorced.


As we say in the book, nurture your friendships. We spend our single days making our girlfriends our significant others (a big part of what Sex and the City was really about), but many women dump their friends as soon as they meet "The One"(gag) or slip a ring on their fingers. What Coontz is saying is that loading that kind of expectation into marriage--and how it should fulfill you in terms of emotional intimacy and communication--especially at the expense of your other close relationships, can often be exactly what causes marriages to fail.

Call your best girlfriend right now and make plans with her. No husbands, no double-dates, no fiances.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Kick-Ass Women

Earlier this fall, I graduated from a basics self-defense class.

If there's one thing I wish every woman would do, regardless of political bent and whether or not you're single, married, or engaged, it's take a full-force, full-contact class that prepares you to defend yourself when and if you are ever assaulted.

It was always something I meant to do, but the catalyst for me finally signing up had to do with a new writing project I was working on and how the research was affecting me psychologically. But the first day, I didn't want to go. I woke up, it was a beautiful day, and I didn't want to spend 4 hours in a West Hollywood gym thinking about the terrible amount of violence and harrassment women will experience in their lives. But I left, after my first fights, exhilarated.

I found fighting kind of fun, which is a strange thing to say. In fact, I would talk about it so much during the week and how "I couldn't wait" for Sunday that S. started calling it "Fight Club." You kind of feel like your own action hero. And while I normally cringe at anything all-female, this was a truly supportive group of truly kick-ass women.

But it's a whole lot more than that. I can't say enough about this class, and the impact it makes on your sense of self and in turn, your confidence. The one I took was in L.A., but there are regional programs throughout the country. Plus, they will work out a payment plan with you to make it work with your needs.

Why this isn't part of the Presidential Physical Fitness test in schools across the U.S. boggles my mind. It's a way better use of federal funding than kickball, or seeing how long you can hang on the chin-up bar.