Hamm Fisted

I’ve never seen an episode Mad Men. I can’t recall seeing Jon Hamm act in anything, but I am a recent fan. This past month Jon Hamm was quoted in an Elle UK interview as saying,

“We’re at a place where the idea of being ‘elite’ is somehow considered a negative.

“Whether it’s Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian or whoever, stupidity is certainly celebrated.

“Being a fucking idiot is a valuable commodity in this culture because you’re rewarded significantly. And incuriousness has become cool… It’s celebrated. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Bravo, Mister Hamm for speaking your mind and speaking the truth.

A few days after the quote was made public, as is to prove his point, Kim Kardashian tweeted this,

“We’re all working hard and we all have to respect one another. Calling someone who runs their own businesses, is a part of a successful TV show, produces, writes, designs, and creates, ‘stupid,’ is in my opinion careless.”

Apparently, Ms. Kardashian isn’t aware that, in a free country you don’t HAVE to respect anyone you don’t want to respect or that working hard and being intelligent do not necessarily go hand in hand.

Oh, but the drama is not yet over. When pressed, Hamm did not back down from his original statement. On a recent Today show appearance, Hamm responded to Matt Lauer’s bringing up Kardashian’s rebuttal to his comments thusly,

“I don’t think they were careless; I think they were accurate, It’s a part of our culture that I certainly don’t identify with, and I don’t really understand the appeal of it other than in a sort of car crash sensibility, and it’s not something that I partake in or enjoy, but it is what it is, and here we are.”

Again, Bravo to Mister Hamm for not backing down from his opinion just because someone took offense.

I may never see Jon Hamm in an acting role, but I will remain a fan if he continues telling it like it is and battling against the celebration of ignorance in American society.

Ironically, Paris Hilton wisely chose to keep her mouth shut on the matter.

*Note- All puns were intended.

Tag, I’m it

It seems I have been tagged (thanks Mooselicker). Until today I had never even heard of tagging another blogger, so I will try to do this right, but please bear with me.

From what I can glean, I am to answer the eleven questions posed by the one who tagged me, then tag eleven others with a list of my own eleven questions.

The questions posed to me and my responses are below.

1. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? What did you think you would become?

When I was very little, I wanted to be a ballerina, even took 11 years of ballet lessons.

2. Who is your biggest celebrity crush?

Eddie Izzard

3. Angels, Bigfoots, or Aliens; which one do you think is most likely to exist?

Aliens are most likely, in my opinion, however, I am skeptical as to the existence of all three choices.

4. What is something that everybody seems to enjoy that you hate?

Coffee and beer. I never acquired a taste for either.

5. If you opened your front door and I was there, what would you say? What would you really be thinking?

I’d say a polite Hello. I’d be thinking, how the hell did you get my address?

6. What is your favorite movie and why?

I have favourites in many different categories, so it’s almost impossible to pick one over all the others, but if I had a gun to my head, I would have to choose All About Eve because it excels on every level, writing, direction, acting, etc. and I love Bette Davis.

7. There has to be something that you believe you’re the best at, what is it?

Scrabble

8. Who is the ugliest person you know and why are they so ugly?

I’m going to take this question as ugliest person I know of, so I can include famous people. I instantly thought of Kim Kardashian, because she is so incredibly shallow and stupid, which are traits that I find ugly, but then thought, no. Her mother, Kris Jenner would be uglier for shoving her shallow and stupid family down our collective throats. But then, I suppose the ugliest of them all would be the E! Channel executive that decided to stink up the air with them in the first place.

9. Is love unconditional?

Never

10. Lots of people have addictions. What is yours?

It used to be cigarettes, but I quit. So now I’d have to say, the internet.

11. What is the nicest compliment you have ever received? What is something that you would like to be complimented more about you?

Nicest compliment is when someone tells me they like my writing. That is also the thing I crave more compliments about.

Here are the eleven questions I am asking the people I tagged.

1. Why did you start your blog?

2. Who is your favourite actor/actress?

3. Name your favourite band/musician?

4. What is your favourite TV Show?

5. Who is your favourite scientist?

6. Name your favourite author?

7. What do you do with your free time when you are not online?

8. If you had to live in another country, which country would you choose and why?

9. What three words best describe you?

10. What is your biggest guilty pleasure?

11. If you were throwing a dinner party, and could invite any 10 people (living or dead) who would you invite?

And lastly, here is who I tagged.

Humanist Musings 

Wandering Sideways

Kitty Blogger

Always Question Authority

Bongo Dog Blog

Feeling Good About Feminism 

Intelligent Life

The Call of Troythulu

Galileo Unchained

Ariaphoenix

Erika Gardner

The anti Bucket List

Like a lot of people I have a Bucket List of things I’d like to do before I kick the bucket. Most of the items on this list are travel oriented, like going to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, attending the Cannabis Cup, visiting New Zealand or buying an apartment in the south of France to spend winters in.

I also have another list. A list of things I have tried, but will (likely) never try again. I call this my Suck It list, because these things can suck it.

MY SUCK IT LIST

Religion

Skiing (both snow and water)

Skating (both Ice and Roller)

Camping

Living in the United States

Marriage

Being a mistress

Anal sex (unless I’m on the giving end)

Lesbianism (not that there’s anything wrong with it, just not for me)

Submission

Watching Piers Morgan

Dropping acid

Doing extacy

Snorting cocaine

Horse back riding

Listening to Katy Perry ‘sing’ (same goes for Britney Spears, Justin Beiber and Beyonce)

Watching a Kardashian do anything (or not do anything)

Visit the Dominican Republic

Go on a cruise

Visit Venice (I can still smell it)

Visit Manhattan (also still smelling it)

Getting drunk on tequila

Date a much younger guy

Eat venison

Babysitting

And the list goes on from here. I’m betting that most people have their own Suck It list. What’s on yours?

** Note to self. Add Guys who respond to list with “Why isn’t my dick on it?” to list.

Are you the next or the first?

For the past two days the lead story on Yahoo Canada’s home page has been ‘Angelina Jolie lookalike stuns’. It’s about, as one would assume an aspiring actress who bears a resemblance to Angelina Jolie. I pity this girl. She will never do anything without being compared to a much more famous and established actress. And how insulting to Angelina Jolie, who isn’t finished being the first Angelina Jolie.

I don’t understand this fascination the media has with saying she’s the next, or he’s the next. It’s not just the entertainment industry either, politics does this as well. Someone is always the next Reagan or JFK. Does the big spin machine really think that the general public is so daft that we need to see a similarity to an iconic figure of the past in a rising star in order to accept them?

Keira Knightley and Audrey Tautou were being billed as the next Audrey Hepburn. Nicole Kidman, Lindsay Lohan, Pam Anderson, Madonna and Kim Kardashian (really?) were all said to be the next Marilyn Monroe. Tom Hanks was being touted as the next Jimmy Stewart and already they’re asking who will be the next Tom Hanks.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I mean this is coming from an industry that remakes a movie that is only two years old (the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo) because apparently American audiences are too lazy to read subtitles. Director Gus Van Sant’s creative tank was so empty that he actually made a shot for shot remake of Hitchcock’s classic movie Psycho. Even though the experiment failed miserably, as most remakes do, Hollywood just won’t give up on the idea… and then they wonder why nobody goes to the movies anymore. Audiences are clamouring for something original, which is why a black and white, silent film is one of the most talked about movies of 2011. You’d think Hollywood would get the message, but instead they have this in the works. I pity the actor charged with recreating a career defining role like Patrick Bateman. I can’t imagine any of the new crop of Twilight or Disney stars doing the role anywhere near the same justice as Christian Bale did it only a scant 12 years ago.

For those of you looking to make your mark on the world, please ask yourself one question. Why would you want to be the next someone else, when you can be the first you?

Do you believe in magic?

Today is 11-11-11 and people seem to have lost all common sense. What do we expect is going to happen? Will all our dreams come true? Will the world end? Is it supposed to be lucky somehow? There are many people planning on making a wish and/or buying a lottery ticket at 11:11 (both am and pm) today.

The only people I can think of that 11-11-11 would be lucky for are dyslexic people.

What is this fascination we have with luck and magic? Is it just another way of not taking responsibility for ourselves? If you ask the richest among us how they got so rich, the answer is invariably a good idea and hard work. So why are we pinning our hopes on a numerical oddity? Do we really expect that if we wish hard enough today that the wish will magically come true? Have we really become so entitled that we expect all of our dreams to appear on a silver platter? Let’s talk about hard work for a moment. In this reality show culture we have created, it seems so easy to get rich and famous. What we don’t see is all the hard work it takes on behalf of the agents, managers, publicity teams, hairstylists, make up artists and stylists to take someone without any talent whatsoever and make them into a Kim Kardashian, or even a Snookie. Then it’s all the hard work  and grueling schedules that the “stars” themselves must keep up with in order to remain in the public eye. Let’s not forget the hard work of the paparazzi and the people who put together the entertainment shows and magazines that have to think of something interesting/controversial to say about  these no talents. For every “over night success” there is a team of very hard working people making it happen. There is no magic involved. The only luck is the luck you make for yourself.

I am also confused by the people who seem to be cheering for the world to end. Harold Camping and his ilk. These doomsday watchers seem to have a death wish. Is life so tough for them that they are hoping with every fiber of their being for the entire world and all life on it to cease. There are people who are projecting their financial future only as far as December 21, 2012 because they are SURE the world will end. December 21, 2012 is another one of those numerical anomalies 12-21-12. All of this craziness puts the wind up my skirt. After all, you could die tomorrow, or you could live to 110. Doesn’t it make more sense to plan for the latter and not be caught unprepared? I understand the need to have something to look forward to, but really, if the end of the world is what you’re excited about, maybe you should re-examine your priorities.

As for 11-11-11, I don’t paint by numbers and I don’t live my life by them either, but I will be buying a lottery ticket today, because it’s Friday and I always get my ticket on Friday and you can’t win if you don’t play. I will also continue to work hard and NOT plan my future with the assumption that I will handed anything on a silver platter. I realize I have to EARN a lot of money just to be able to afford the platter.