On this date 45 years ago, President John F. Kennedy famously declared “Ich bin ein Berliner” to a crowd of Germans in West Berlin. (And, from a nerdy rhetorical perspective, was able to successfully identify with his audience, thus enhancing his credibilty. Right, Dr. Achter?)
So yeah, bring that historical tidbit to your Thursday night happy hour. (Or, if your happy hour fell through, you can stay home and read the 1963 article here.)
According to this article from today’s New York Times, in order to defray costs for their patients and to tap into some (almost) free, very personal advertising, some plastic surgeons have started offering cash incentives for patients who choose to put videos of their surgeries on YouTube. Aside from the major EW factor (which, as someone who tends to be against plastic surgery and who can’t so much as stand the surgery scenes in Nip/Tuck, I find pretty damn creepy), there are all sort of ethical questions. The main question is how much trust potential patients can put in these videos when the person raving about the treatment has been paid to rave. In some cases, it’s no small chunk of change: one Beverly Hills surgeon discounted a woman’s face-lift from $12,000 to $3,800 in exchange for the patient posting her before-and-after video on YouTube. Wowza.
I’m too chicken too watch any major surgeries, but at your own risk of boredom, take a look at this Botox video. If you want to actually see the injection, which is just as boring as the rest, go to about 3:00 minutes in.
Didn’t think cosmetic surgery could ever be so boring, did ya?! Also, I love that this woman’s hair is stuck in the ’80s, even though her cosmetic medical treatments are totally modern.
One New York doctor, who pays his patients significantly less to go public than the Beverly Hills surgeon, doesn’t see the money as having any major ethical effect on the advertising. I love this quote:
“If it were truly a conflict of interest, then 90 percent of the patients would do it because it would be so worth their time,” Dr. Chynn said. “New Yorkers are so busy. They’re not in Kansas. We’re not talking about Dorothy and Toto.”
Um, touche? (And way to make an insulting, confused blanket statement about Midwest there, Dr. Chynn.) But with costs of plastic surgery so high, it’s no wonder that many people disagree with Dr. Chynn. In fact, one of his patients (who underwent Lasek surgery, which is different from Lasik in ways that I don’t care to get into/don’t understand), essentially said that he’d do the promotional video no matter what the circumstances were: “I’ll do anything to save money,” he said.
I suppose that you could argue that the discounted costs are making this whole plastic surgery thing a little more egalitarian. (Face-lifts and breast implants aren’t just for Hollywood’s rich and famous anymore! Now even you frumpy Kansas women, with all that time on your hands, can go under the knife too!) Personally, I think it’s just plain weird. But who knows? Maybe when I get all wrinkly and have real bills to pay, I’ll appreciate the discount, and the fifteen minutes of fame.
P.S. One of the patients interviewed for the article is named Jiffy Reed. Got a thing for peanut butter, there Mom and Dad?
[Posted by Mallory]
After a grueling spring semester with no new episodes of The Office or Ugly Betty due to a writers’ strike that I only partially understood (although the picture above does a pretty good job of explaining things), it looks like actors may be poised to strike this summer. Now, I don’t know a whole lot about unions, or strikes in general (except my mom’s own experience with striking nurses a while ago, and all I remember from that is that she was pissed because she didn’t want to strike), but it seems like an actor’s list of grievances would pale in comparison to the grievances of, say, a coal miner. And on top of that, how do they expect people to survive without television? If I can’t hang out with Jim Halpert and Betty Suarez and Eli Stone, what I am I supposed to do? Talk to REAL people? Go outside?? This is the 21st century, people. We need our TV.
At least we have Netflix. Netflix and Blush Chablis.
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under celebrities, news
Today I heard the song “Meet Virginia” on the radio and was reminded of how much I love it. It’s one of the few songs that I have absolutely loved since it came out; it’s never gotten old. It must have come out when I was still in middle school (like ten years ago…eek), so I think it’s pretty impressive that I’m still digging it. Wikipedia tells me that “Drop of Jupiter” was technically Train’s bigger hit, and I find that surprising, because even though I love that song as well, I think “Meet Virginia” takes the cake. So, boys and girls, let’s take a listen:
I didn’t know that Train looked like that until about five minutes ago. Also, the lyric “her brother is a fine mediator for the President” has always bugged me. Today I had the revelation that the lyrics might be “fine media aide for the President,” which would make more sense to me. I mean I understand what it might mean to be a mediator for the President, but is that even a real job? And if it is, it sounds pretty important, so why can’t the brother loan Virginia some money so she doesn’t have to work in a diner getting hit on by creepy guys? Just saying.
[Editor’s note: It’s in the offical video for this song that Virginia is working in the diner, but of course that video is “no longer available” even though it was JUST AVAILABLE FOR ME. Ahem. Technology, you slay me.]
[Posted by Mallory]
Folks, here’s your weekly Hump Day Cry Face, brought to you by the Denver PD. I realize that this post is a leetle overshadowed by Matt’s fabulous dancing, but I still have high hopes for the CF. (And in all honesty, I am really freaked out and saddened by the whole murder thing, but I also really like saying things like murder, schmurder.) So, you bored gainfully employed people out there, take a break to laugh. And to wish that the cop had just gone for it a little more.
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under cry face
Well, folks, looks like our favorite hopeful candidate is gracing the cover of Rolling Stone this week (his second cover). And I must say, he’s looking good. Apparently, it’s a pretty big deal that the cover is headline-less. (The other famous wordless cover is that weird one of a naked John Lennon death-gripping Yoko with his thighs, which I’ve always found pretty creepy, even though a lot of people seem to like it.) So hey, congrats, Barack!
Rolling Stone doesn’t post the full article online, but I’ve been able to browse through some snippets of the interview with Obama, and I’m particularly excited to see that we Barack out to similar music: Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, the Rolling Stones. Not too shabby.
In the piece I watched about this cover on The Today Show (and yes, this morning I also suffered through the awkward Today Show wedding), some analysts thought that a cover like this makes it too easy for Obama to be pigeonholed. But the Rolling Stone has always been openly political (and liberal), and has featured Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Howard Dean, and John Kerry on its covers throughout the years (along with Richard Nixon and W, but for slightly different reasons), so I don’t think Obama is making some kind of radical statement that people need to get freaked out about.
What I find a little more…unusual…than the Stones cover is the fact that Donatella Versace came out with a fashion line dedicated to and inspired by Hopey. Here’s what blog Highbrid Nation had to say:
In a move that has shocked both the political and fashion arenas, Donatella Versaceannounced that her Spring/Summer 2009 collection, which she presented in Milan on Saturday is dedicated entirely to presidential hopeful Barack Obama. Versace said he the line represents “a relaxed man who doesn’t need to flex muscles to show he has power.” Needless to say this has NEVER happened before…big pimpin’….
Bizarre, but pretty freakin’ cool, too. I don’t anticipate a McCain-inspired line of hair pieces, hearing aids, and Stepford wife arm accessories to be coming out anytime soon, so Obama’s got a leg up there. Take a look at the Donatella’s Baracouture:
Yellow mandals? Ouch.
[Posted by Mallory]
With the Democratic National Convention on its way to Denver in just under two months, there’s a lot of water cooler-type talk about the event. Across party lines, many people seem to be worried about the protest movement called “Re-create 68,” a movement that’s seeking to emulate the protests at the 1968 DNC in Chicago, where clashes between protesters and police officers often turned violent. The organization’s website states that it “was created for all the grassroots people who are tired of being sold out by the Democratic Party,” and, as commenter and group member Glenn Spagnuolo points out, the organization is committed to nonviolence. They’re against the two-party system in general, and for now are showing it by participating in local festivals and fairs, planning rallies, and trying to attract more supporters of their cause. About the name of the organization, the website explains:
Sometimes we need to look back to move forward. In 1968 there existed a spirit of change, the Paris Rebellion, Prague, Chicago, Vietnam, etc. People believed, around the world, that they were capable of taking over the institutions that controlled their lives. The smell of revolution was in the air. Over 1 million college students openly identified as revolutionist. People believed that through mass participation in the movement, it was possible to wrest control from the elite power-holders. They were not willing to accept the loss of their human and civil rights.
They are trying to re-inspire a revolutionary attitude, which, based on what happened in 1968, understandably makes people a little nervous. Which is why, perhaps, the city is so far being so accommodating to another protest group, Tent State University. For now, the two protest groups are connected, but Denver City Councilwoman Carla Madison encouraged Tent State to break off from R-68 to make things a little easier on them. In a Rocky Mountain New article on the topic, Madison said that she views R-68 as a “little more anarchistic.” (Here’s the online version of the article, but please note that the online article and the hard copy of the article that I’m referencing are not exactly the same.)
Tent State describes itself as “a positive, youth-led initiative to fund education instead of war.” According to the RMN article, the group hopes to bring up to 50,000 people to Denver’s City Park (pictured below, and yes, I do realize how lucky I am) from August 24-28 and provide the experience of a “real democracy,” complete with protests and classes teaching nonviolent and anti-war tactics. So far, the city has issued Tent State a permit for 20,000 people, and this morning on the radio I heard a sound byte from Mayor John Hickenlooper in which he expressed support for the group, and expected them to be non-disruptive, partly because they are in support of Obama.
So far, the one major kink in the plans deals with the actual camping permit. Naturally, it’s a lot easier to provide a place for 20,000 people to hang out during the day than to provide a place for the same number of people to sleep, eat, and shower. But as Adam Jung, the chief Tent State organizer, points out, “If we have to figure out a way to remove all of these people at 10 or 11 at night, it becomes very problematic…that’s what happened in Chicago.”
Tent State and the city of Denver are still in discussion, but for now, I think all of this is great. It’s impressive that the city is being so willing to work with the organization, and it could set a standard for future successful nonviolent protests. I’ll be starting grad school in DC during the week of the convention, but I’ll be crossing my fingers and keeping an eye on the action along with everyone else. Good luck, Tent Sate.
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under news, politics, Uncategorized
As an enthusiastic (if not particularly committed) fan of VH1’s Best Week Ever and I Love the [Insert Decade Here], I was very happy to stumble upon the 2003 edition of I Love the New Millennium that’s on this week. I was looking forward to seeing Hal Sparks, one of my favorite commentators, rocking his snarky adorable nerdiness of yesteryear. In my memory, he looked something like this:
Totally crushable, no?
Let’s look at another:
Cute, clean-cut, white teeth…nice.
So imagine my surprise when he shows up on the set of I Love the New Millennium looking like THIS:
Hal, NOOOO! What happened to you? The patchy beard plus molestache? The earring? That tie?? And Hal, if you’re going to allow your hair to grow out like that, at least brush it, for god’s sake. Some scholarly research tells me that he has a CD now (not very new, apparently), so maybe he’s misguidedly trying to channel some sort of rocker vibe? Hal, on I Love the 2010’s, I’ll be expecting more of you.
At least he’s still witty.
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under celebrities, crushes
I love Bob Dylan. I can’t say I love him that much more than the average person, because, you know, everyone loves Bob Dylan. I had the chance to see him in concert last summer at Red Rocks with my friend Walsh, and it was the experience of a lifetime. Sure, his singing was so unintelligible that we didn’t know which song he was singing until about halfway through each, but I’m still glad I got to see him perform while he can still form something approaching real words.
But as much as I love good ol’ Bobby D., I just might love his son more. I’ve always thought that the Wallflowers were a little underrated, or at least underappreciated. They won two Grammys for “One Headlight,” and they certainly had a good run, but they didn’t last as long as I would have liked. I’m thrilled to see that Jakob (yep, we’re on a first name basis) has come out with an impressive first solo album. I’m kind of obsessed with “Something Good This Way Comes.” That voice…I think I’m in love. And Wikipedia just told me that Jakob has been married to the same woman for over 15 years, and they have four children whose privacy he works really hard to protect (he works so hard at this that Wikipedia doesn’t even list the names of two of his children. And if Wikipedia doesn’t have it, I don’t think even the Census Bureau does).
I’d been trying to put off writing about Jakob until some sort of official video for “Something Good” was released, but I couldn’t take it anymore, so we’ll have to settle for a bootleg clip from Bonnaroo:
While we’re at it, let’s watch a little old school Wallflowers to complete our fix:
Is there anything better than a Dylan with an acoustic guitar? Anyone want to give me their ticket to Rothbury?
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under adventures
six words to change the world. 
