Posts Tagged ‘media’

Love and Hate plus Eight

{ May 11, 2009 @ 7:59 pm } · { PR Musings }
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I love to hate a lot of things in pop culture; Miley Cyrus, Shutter Shades, Lifetime. However, there is nothing I love to hate more than Jon and Kate Gosselin.

John and Kate plus Eight is a “reality” show on TLC chronicling the lives of a family with two sets of multiples – twins and sextuplets. In the beginning, you’d see how this family handled everything from feeding 8 small children to grocery shopping with eight small children to grass clipping with eight small children. It reaffirmed my belief that I will never have kids of my own.

Well… as the show got more and more popular, Jon and Kate got full of themselves and sick of each other. The newer episodes show more fighting and bickering between the parents than between the kids. There is no break between filming seasons. The kids have no time away from the cameras. And now, there are rumors of infidelity in the marriage. It’s on the cover of the tabloids for Pete’s sake – bumping down Angelina and Brad – who are WAY more importaint IMO….

Cara, Maddie, Hannah, Joel, Collin, Alexa, Aaden, and Leah (holy crap I know all their names without looking!) don’t stand a chance at having anything close to resembling a normal childhood if the series continues. It’s bad enough to have your parents not get along and to do embarrassing things in front of your family; having it become public fodder is horrible. J&K+8 is a big money draw for TLC with the advertising, book deals, and what have you; do those eight kids get a cut of any of that? If they lived in Hollywood they would. I’m pretty sure filming those kids almost 24/7 violates child labor laws.

Those poor children. Hasn’t the story of the Dionne Quintuplets shown that you CAN’T market multiple births and not end up with messed up children? If they weren’t on TV, wouldn’t young children working that long raise more than a few eyebrows and probably get CPS called in? Don’t we see the demise of enough child stars in Hollywood – some who go in on their own accord and not from pushy stage parents? Is America really that messed up that we not only don’t care, but we WANT to watch this happen? Those poor kids.

Republicans and 2012

{ March 29, 2009 @ 8:04 pm } · { PR Musings }
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*sigh* Is it bad that I love Sarah Palin so much? I don’t support her “politics”, her “values”, or her “fancy pagent walkin’”, but there is just something about the woman that I can’t get enough of.

Oh yeah… it’s because she’s a trainwreck.

I was browsing through the CNN Political Ticker for some comic relief and the newest post was McCain: I’d like to see Palin compete for 2012 WH bid. Like hell you do, Johnny. You’re probably just like me, and hope she is a contender so that you can watch Keith Olbermann make funny faces as he reads off her headlines. It would keep Tina Fey working.

I digress… Palin bashing wasn’t the intent of this blog.

McCain got asked how he thought the Republicans would pull themselves out of the rut they are in. After two election cycles of losses and the last Republican president having such a high approval rating, the party isn’t exactly flourishing. I thought he gave a very enlightening answer.

We have to become “the party of ideas, party of inclusiveness,” McCain said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press. “Outreach to other ethnic aspects of the American electorate; in my part of the country especially, Hispanic voters. We have to recruit and elect Hispanics to office. We have to welcome new ideas. … [A] lot of people complain about divisions within the Republican Party. That’s good right now. Let’s let a thousand flowers bloom. Let’s have different clashes of ideas, sharing the same principles and goals.”

I wonder, what happens when those “flowers” bloom? Will the Republicans start straying away from their religious base? Are we looking at 2010 or 2012? How will this play out for Sarah?

Although Obama won the election and gained support with his grassroots movement in ways we hadn’t seen, that little Governor from Alaska also won out in many ways. Sure, she didn’t become Vice President, but she got the attention as though SHE were the one running for the highest office. McCain’s losing was Palin’s big break. She has her own political action committee, keeps her names in the headlines, and is the first person many think of when you say Republican. You can be damn sure she’s planning on running in 2012.

Depending on what happens between now and then, Palin has the potential to be a front runner for the Republican ticket. If she learns to pick her words, and stops being so “folksy”, she could be up. Granted, the cleaned up version of Palin wouldn’t make for good “Countdown” moments, but it would be great for her. Republicans and women don’t have a history of going together. The party picking a woman as their nominee would show that they are indeed a party of inclusiveness.

On the flip side of this, should the Republican party ditch the “uber Conservatives” for the more mainstream ideas, Sarah would be lost in the shuffle. She speaks to the part of the country that is still afraid of terrorists winning. The religious right would have a hard time dealing with mainstream conservatism, and probably break off in to their own party. That would leave this Palin standing in the shadows with Ron Paul. Could you picture Sarah Palin standing in the shadows? Yeah, didn’t think so either. She’d find a way to adapt.

Politics is just like picking homecoming queens – and Sarah Palin has experience in that front. Could Mike Huckabee compete in the talent portion of the debates?

Holy Buckets Batman

{ March 24, 2009 @ 10:42 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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I have over 100 views already. Either, I’m a better writer than I give myself credit for, or you also suffer from the lack of decent on-demand selections. Either way, thanks.

And major thanks to Condron.us and Alphainventions for sending people my way.

Sick-ick-ick-ick

{ March 23, 2009 @ 8:49 pm } · { Day in the Life }
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The bad part about being around little kids? You get exposed to new “germs” every second. I am sick, yet again.. *sigh*

Interview tomorrow for summer job… and TONS of stuff to do for Kids With Heart. I’m taking Nyquil and going to bed. But first, I leave you with this little gem…

I have a little girl who looks almost EXACTLY like this… except blonde. Any three-year-old well versed in Star Wars is an awesome kid in my book.

Selling your Ending

{ March 22, 2009 @ 1:26 pm } · { PR Musings }
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Jade Goody has died.

For most of the stateside residents, we had no clue who she was while she was living. Reality Television stars from across the pond just don’t blip on our radar – even with the international controversy they cause. We only know of Jade because she was dying, and doing so in a very public matter.

Ms. Goody had been diagnosed with cervical cancer. Upon realizing it was terminal, she set out on a massive media blitz selling her story rights and the last days of her life to the public. The money, she insists, is going to take care of her two young sons.

This is an entirely new chapter in the fame machine. For so long, public figures have kept their pain and suffering out of the spotlight. Heath Ledger didn’t give a predesignated FINAL magazine interview. Kurt Cobain did not shoot himself with an audience. Although we do not have actual access to Ms. Goodey’s last moments, we have been kept updated through gossip sites, and even major TV news stations on her slow demise.

What does this mean for the future “stars” of tomorrow. Will this become a new trend – selling out your final moments for a quick buck for your family? Is this a good idea? Is it a bad one, at that?

By Jade Goody coming public with her battle with Cancer, Britian has seen a rise in cervical cancer screenings. They are calling it the “Jade Goody Effect”. She has given a face to the suffering that those dying with the disease experence.

We must remember that Jade Goody started as a contestent on Big Brother UK. She didn’t win and was the gossip rags favorite “idiot” to cover for awhile. Through clever marketing and her desire for fame, she made a career out of it, appearing in “Celebrity Big Brother” (with the now infamous “racisim” charge) and launching many products. She didn’t really do anything special. She lost two realtity shows, and pissed off a majority of India.

What Jade Goody has shown is how to extend the 15 minutes you are guarenteed
by being on television. She used everything and anything she had to stay in the spotlight until the bitter end.

I’m slightly afraid that this will become a new trend. I am saddened by her passing, and my heart goes out to her family, but I can’t help but to be slightly relieved that we won’t be getting the hourly updates anymore. Somethings are meant to stay private for a reason. Kudos to her to raising awareness for cervical cancer and getting the sense to sock some money away for her kids, but there was an oversaturation of Jade Goody in the media. It spilled over to America, where she only became famous for dying. Somehow, I don’t think that’s right.

Where is the line drawn? Is it ok to do final interviews from your hospital bed? Should you get free stuff for a lavish wedding because you are weeks away from death? This is an issue that, surprizingly, has not come up before in media-land.

I suspect that this issue will arise again. To that future person, just remember someday your family will look back on these “memories” as preserved in the glossy media magazines. Will you want them to remember you like this?

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