“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

I’ve been an underdog my whole life. First as Jewish kid being raised in a predominantly anti-Semitic, blue-collar, armpit of a town in New Jersey. Second as a fat kid being raised in the pre-obese kids era that we live in now. I could go on, but will spare you my heartbreaking saga (the book is being written, naturally). As a new “blogger”, I am in the underdog position again, since there are 7 million to 10 million active blogs on in the Internet at any given time. Reading today’s Style Section of The New York Times (yes, I still… Read More »

Far be it from me to let this David Carradine story go by without commenting on it. Naturally, I wish the Carradine family much peace at this horrible time. But he died of what? How? Where? What? Huh? As a product of the swinging 70’s, my sexual proclivities were quite risque, as were most people’s then, thanks to Quaaludes. If you never did one, it is hard to describe. You took a Lude and ended up in someone else’s bed. Period. My friend Nancy was known to say, “That tree is beginning to look sexy” and off she’d go to… Read More »

Everyday there is at least one story in the headlines that peaks my interest…rather…hits my annoyance bone…hence, my daily I MEAN…WHAT?!? Today was special. Nothing really struck my fancy. Sure, I could go on and on about Barack Obama’s little speech in Cairo (and when I say little, I mean that in the most loving way) but, eh, I’ll let the Republicans and Israelis chew on that one. I saw part of the speech and have no opinion either way. He’s a fabulous speaker, so what else is new? The issues with the Muslim world, especially beyond their own borders,… Read More »

From here on, Eminem is officially, M&M. The Sunday night, completely inappropriate, ass-in-face stunt turns out to have been planned and rehearsed. I guess M&M likes that position after all…the position of being mocked and made to look like a fool. So many people thought that the whole situation was unfortunate. In hind sight (literally), it is an abomination that this kind of immaturity rules and is the bane of MTV’s existence. Wanna bet the Bruno movie will feature a song by M&M? There is always some sort of cross-promotional deal in the air with MTV. They are the masters… Read More »

Whenever people make a point that something is au courant, they say “Bla Bla is the new black”. Isaac Mizrahi thinks “Competition is the new black” (in an effort to promote The Fashion Show on Bravo) and Queer Eye guy Carson Kressley, once declared “Gay is the new black,” (well, perhaps it was in the late 70’s, but definitely not when his show was happening. If anything “gay became the new annoying”). The phrase originated in 1983 when Gianfranco Ferre referred to his somber collection in the LA Times that, “Grey is the new black”. We can agree on one… Read More »

Upon reading the dismal report on Anderson Cooper’s ratings woes, I wanted to give CNN a heads up on what they can do to sway the tide. First of all, Anderson Cooper is adorable. And when he is reporting from New Orleans, or Iraq and even the top of the Beverly Center in Los Angeles, that’s when he is most compelling. Also, you can’t compare the bubble that we were in during the most exciting election cycle in U.S. History. Of course his ratings from that period could not be sustained. What makes Anderson interesting besides his crisp, clear blue… Read More »

My head is still reeling from how horrendous the MTV Movie Awards are. I don’t know where to begin. And it’s not because I am not cool that I think the entire show is a bunch of childish morons. In every which way, that industry needs to snap out of it. And everyone wonders why kids today are so clueless, disrespectful and unsophisticated. Look at their role models. The few entertaining moments for me were Eminem’s performance (on stage), the Andy Samburg’s retrospective sung by Leanne Rimes, Forrest Whitaker and Chris Isaac and that’s pretty much it. I missed Kings… Read More »

There’s something fantastic about Adam Lambert and Susan Boyle’s second place finishes on American Idol and Britian’s Got Talent (respectively). What, you say? How about a clear message that “winning is not everything”. What a great statement for all to see and hear especially when Adam and Susan will undoubtedly have fantastic careers moving forward. Yeah, yeah, Kris Allen is adorable and the Diversity dance troupe from last night’s Brit win are extremely talented…but…yoo hoo…snore. As a confirmed slacker, seeing people not win and succeeding anyway makes my heart go pitter-patter. It reminds me that not being a goodie-goodie (like… Read More »

Watching Prince Harry gallivant around New York City smiling, shaking hands, planting trees, honoring the fallen at the World Trade Center had such an unexpected impact on me. Granted, he is beyond adorable…but not only because of that. There was something magical about him. I was deeply effected by Princess Diana’s death and seeing him being so magnanimous touched me in a gentle, yet profound way, as did the circumstances around her untimely, unnecessary death. Boy, would she be proud. Then I got to thinking about who do we in America have that exudes that royal air. Since our Kennedy-Camelot… Read More »

Honestly, I am the only one outraged about the endless talk about racism these days? Sure, there are the few bloviators expounding on MSNBC and Fox News, so what else is new? But where is the outrage from the people? Where is the backlash? Where are the boycotts? Where are the demonstrations? How have we as a nation become so complacent with everything. As a remnant of the 1970’s, I remember all to well how amazing the energy was when we took to the streets against the war in Vietnam. Or when the women’s movement was in full bloom complete… Read More »