Monday, September 18, 2006

Slow News Day

My browser is set to automatically open to MSN when I go on-line. I scan the home page daily for anything of interest. I don't get heavily bogged down in this stuff, but today, I just thought I'd share some things I learned from the MSN homepage.

Important items today include--"Guide to Men's Shirts & Ties," "Jobs That Let You Eat," and "Can Whitney Revive Her Career?"

Favorite Headline today--"Space Station Crew Reports Foul Odor."--Wonder if they had rehydrated beans for supper last night.

Article Producing the most idiotic quotes today--The Joys of Being Single
This was a piece on the handful of celebrities who are surprisingly single. It included a quote from Maureen Dowd--"Men used to be necessary in terms of reproduction and refinance, but we don't need them for that anymore. They'll be necessary like ice cream is necessary." Yep. That 's all they're good for. Let a guy say that about women and see what kind of press he gets.

The second most idiotic quote of this piece was from Oprah Winfrey, who said that her long-time boyfriend, Stedman Graham, is a "very traditional black man," but she is not a "very traditional black woman." She also said that "A piece of paper does not define a life." Translated into "traditional black woman-ese" that's-- "I ain't gonna let no man tell me what to do."

Things I learned from Celebrity Photos
  • A picture of Brad Pitt came with a tag line stating that "Brangelina" (as the gossip collumnists call Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie) are planning to wait to marry until everyone can. This is on the heals of reading a similar statement by Charlize Theron regarding her relationship with Stuart Townsend. The gist of this is that they believe they should get married when gay and lesbian unions are recognized by the federal government. So really, what they are saying is that marriage really doesn't mean anything anyway so, they're going to wait until it means even less. In the meanwhile, as they hold off making a lifetime commitment to each other, they will continue living together and procreating and adopting each other's previously adopted children. But they prefer to be morally superior to the rest of us who chose to marry because of a desire to be fully committed to someone we love, by putting off their marriages until they can make a political statement by doing so. How romantic! How sweet! I'm so envious!
  • Natalie Maines is really kind of pretty when you can't hear her talking.
  • John Mayer is really pretty too, if you don't have to watch him sing. (I like to hear him sing, I just can't watch him sing.)
  • Only an entertainment page can make Natalie Maines look better than Paris Hilton.

The Duh! Award Goes To--A Newsweek Article on "The Papal Controversy--What Was the Pope Thinking?"--I think he said what he was thinking. The only reason the last Pope didn't say what he was thinking more in the last few years was he was too sick to do so. Now that there is a Pope healthy enough to give some actual opinions on things (while holding up a very big hat), we might not always agree with him. But, as good Catholics would tell you, he's never wrong.

A Very Misleading Headline (In my humble opinion)--"Film Depicting Bush's Death Wins Award"--Evidently a film festival gave an award to the film "The Death of a President" which depicts a scenario in which President Bush is assasinated and the aftermath of such an occurence. I read the article but I couldn't make out what the actual message of the film was. In fact most of the article itself was about another film entirely. But the headline read as if the award was given to the film because it depicted Bush's death. That's a shameful way to get me to read an article on a film festival. Shame on you MSN. Shame. Shame.

These are a few of the snippets that caught my attention today. If you have anything to share, please do so now.