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What I wasn't expecting from this documentary-like minifilm was a dog whistle to the Christian Right, steeped in the imagery of crosses and with enough attention paid to the "soil" to make the Proud Boys -- who shouted "Blood and Soil" at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia -- proud. → Read More
So, this is my swan song for Mad Blog. (I will let my colleague Bob Garfield explain the nuts and bolts here.) But I'd rather not look back. Instead, let's touch on some of the petty/bitchy stuff that I never got to cover. Like Jennifer Aniston's tears. → Read More
"So tell me, what's been going on in your buttock area?" You have to admit that's a pretty good opener for a patient exam on "Botched," a reality show about cosmetic repair work that kicks off its fourth season on E! on June 18. → Read More
Go Figure: Dove's Lady-Shaped Bottles Make Eyes Roll - 05/13/2017 → Read More
"The Handmaid's Tale," a phenomenal drama now streaming on Hulu.com., looks to be the service's breakout hit, just as "Mad Men" put AMC on the map lo those many years ago. → Read More
Lately, she's adopted a fembot voice that is very soft and whispery, and so controlled that it's almost chilling. While making a point, she flashes a 90-watt smile that seems unconvincing, more like a very careful and meticulous tiger baring her teeth. → Read More
What more is there to say about the now-dumped Bill O'Reilly? That he recently shook hands with the Pope? That he substituted the word "falafel" for "loofah" while making harassing calls to one of his female producers? That in the end, two of the few advertisers who stuck by his show were My Pillow and Turbo Scrub? . → Read More
Earlier in the week, I posted this snarky joke on social media: "The CEO of United just sent Sean Spicer a huge fruit basket, regifted from Pepsi." → Read More
To paraphrase sometime-casino owner Rick in "Casablanca," "I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of one little Pepsi commercial don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world." Or do they? → Read More
Anti-retrosexuals, rejoice! We've got nothing to lose but the boobs on display in ads for the Hardee's and Carl Jr's food chains! → Read More
As the self-appointed president of the "Maniacs for Mad Men" club, I'm always on the lookout for a worthy successor. I don't want to get too excited yet, but I must say that one (not-yet picked-up) Amazon pilot, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," looks awfully promising. → Read More
Cyrus, Road Blocks, And The Green-Eyed Monster - 03/17/2017 → Read More
Humans might continue to argue about the need for 51% of the population to celebrate A Day Without a Woman, as part of International Women's Day, or even to require a Women's History Month. But one timeless piece of advertising created to honor the strength and power of women, individually and collectively, has overridden any possible division to garner universal praise. → Read More
Jimmy Kimmel was on cruise control, generally killin' it at the Oscars. All was surprisingly unpolitical and stellar, until the Dolby Theater tour bus crashed. → Read More
A funny thing happened en route to the Oscars' move toward cultural irrelevance. Okay, let's not go crazy: this Sunday evening, we will no doubt still have to endure the stilted banter and embarrassing production numbers that are endemic to the broadcast, regardless of the host, as well as the head-scratching pacing, so glacial that the show won't deliver its major winners until after 11 p.m. on… → Read More
Andy Puzder, we hardly knew ye. That is, before he withdrew his nomination as Secretary of Labor this week, we kinda/sorta knew him as the hard-charging Hardee's and Carl's Jr. guy. → Read More
If you will indulge me, I'm going to go back to that ridiculous orgy of advertising that accompanied the football game last Sunday. I know many critics found the spots disappointing, lackluster, disconnected from the brand, etc. These are complaints we hear every year. Many of the protests this year said the ads were too political. Still, in all of the hashover, nobody seems to have noticed one… → Read More
You'd think that the Super Bowl, with its powerfully-muscled teams of homunculi pounding on each other, might provide the perfect diversion from the nonstop provocation of The Trump Show. And that both sides would be eager for just such an escape. But if the walkup to the Big Game this year is any indication, we just can't quit the divide. → Read More
As thousands of impassioned, personal and emotional memorials pour in, we can agree that that Mary Richards was much more than a sitcom character. She was a mirror and a walking Rorschach test (with a great set of L'Eggs) for one generation of TV-focused Americans-and the next. → Read More
I wanted to write a light-hearted column about the pomp and ceremony of Trump's Inauguration Day-you know, the clothes, the gaffes, the memes. → Read More