Posted 5:22 PM by Matt
Mary-Ellis Bunim is dead. For all the awful things you can say about "reality television," Bunim was without question a pioneer, and some of her creations, like "The Real World," provide reality TV with some of its greatest and most timeless moments--such as the death of RW:SF housemate Pedro Zamora, the insanity of SF housemate Puck, and the brilliance that was RW:Hawaii. In this sad time, though, it's my duty to remind you of The Real Cancun, though--what was THAT about?

Posted 10:41 AM by Matt
A lot of folks have been coming here looking for the "Hey Ya!, Charlie Brown" video. By the grace of one of its creators here it is.

Posted 9:20 PM by Matt
Well, I'm stuck at work, waiting for my car to come, so time to blog while reviewing a complaint!

1. Howard Dean--I find myself increasingly repelled by Dean and drawn to John Kerry, not just because of the electability bugaboo (which is a big one), but because of the tone not of the candidate, but his supporters. Pop over to Dean's official blog, Blog for America, click on any comments section, and you'll see what I mean. Nasty things about every other candidate (and Kerry in particular), and shouts like "THIS ISN'T A CAMPAIGN. THIS IS A NATIONAL EMERGENCY! WE'VE GOT TO ANSWER THE CALL AND DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET OUR COUNTRY BACK." which seem better suited to a Pat Buchanan rally than a candidate for the Democratic nomination are not appealing to me (add to this bizarre lingo like "hit that bat some more!," which is apparently a code for "give more money!").

2. Went to see "Wicked" on Broadway last night--it's the current hot ticket among new shows (though not as hot as "Hairspray" and "Producers" were at their heights--I easily picked up tickets for last night's show two weeks ago). The lead performances, by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenowith, are both great (though Menzel is CLEARLY the lead), the set and production design is marvelous, and the book cleverly streamlines Gregory Maguire's somewhat overly ambitious novel. However, despite all the trappings, the show really only has 8 major characters (Elphaba, Glinda, Madame Morrible, The Wizard, Fiyero, Boq, Nessarose, and (arguably) Dr. Dillamond)--there's no need for an ensemble of 20 beyond that. The show, especially its most intimate moments, gets a little swallowed by the theatre (Broadway's largest) and the ensemble. My bet--in 10 years, this is the musical from this era that becomes the biggest high school reperatory piece--why?

1. Fairly easy score to sing and play (except for a few operatic soprano trills, which can easily be cut).
2. Utterly inoffensive to anyone, and accessible to everyone (unlike, say, "Urinetown" and "Hairspray").
3. Female-heavy. Your two leads are both females, and Morrible and Nessarose are both female. Dillamond could potentially be cast as a female as well. (in contrast to "Producers," which requires two super-strong male performers, or "Hairspray," which may well require Harvey Fierstein himself).
4. Large ensemble making it well suited to High School parts.

Yes, the show's about 15 minutes too long, and yes, the second act is a bit of a letdown after the sensational close of the first act, but it's still worth your 40 bucks.

Posted 5:03 PM by Matt
As Howard Bashman is good enough to point out, police officers everywhere who enjoy stripping and engaging in lewd acts on video are rejoicing at this opinion from the Ninth Circuit.

More blogging later, on Broadway's "Wicked" (good), the Oscar nominations (solid), and Howard Dean's increasing insanity (entertaining).

Posted 10:59 AM by Matt
Also not available on this website (which people are searching for):

Information about the hairstyles of Ashton Kutcher.

However, the fine folks over at The Smoking Gun have been gracious enough to put up the court document that uses the word "Punk'd" more times than any other. Take a look here.

Posted 10:56 AM by Matt
What do you get when you combine an Outkast single, a videotape of "A Charlie Brown Christmas," and two folks with WAY too much time on their hands? "Hey Ya!, Charlie Brown"