Category Archives: RIP

by | June 1, 2009 · 9:43 am

what a morning for the news!

My little sister was in town this weekend, and we were both up early so that I could get off to work and she could get to the airport. We were ready ahead of schedule and had the fortune of watching some of “The Today Show” — and of being reminded why watching the news can be really depressing. Today’s headlines include:

  • George Tiller, a pretty infamous late-term abortion doctor from Kansas, was murdered yesterdayIN HIS CHURCH. Where his wife sang in the choir and he was an usher. As Barry said, abortion (particularly late-term) is an incredibly divisive issue and the two sides may not be reconcilable, but this takes it way too freaking far.
  • GM officially filed for bankruptcy. I won’t even pretend to be able to explain the real economic impact this might have, but all those people on the teevee say this is a really big deal.
  • An Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris went missing. The plane, which had 228 people on board, went off the radar about three hours after taking off, and that’s not normal. Here’s hoping the plane was full of beautiful people and it will land on a remote island and everyone can live “Lost”-style until we find them and save them. UPDATE: The AP reports that debris presumed to be from the plane has been found in the Atlantic Ocean. So sad.

Celebrity news wasn’t quite as depressing, but there’s a lot going on there as well:

megan fox

  • We’ve got Susan Boyle losing in the finale of Britain’s Got Talent and then checking into a clinic due to exhaustion. Poor thing! Get this lady out of the spotlight.
  • “The Hills” finale was on last night, and LC is OUT. Maybe I’m just naive, but I think it’s remarkable that she seemed to stay so normal throughout the show, and I’m glad that she’s getting out before she totally ruins her life. Via BBM (and Cosmo), my sister informed me that Lauren apparently got angry that the producers were taking over her life a leetle too much. In a world where cute people like Susan Boyle and seemingly perfect families like the Gosselins are ruined by reality teevee, it’s nice to see someone say (albeit after a few years), “No thanks. I’m done.” Oh and also Kristin Cavallari showed up.
  • Shit got crazyat last night’s MTV Movie Awards! Call me lovestruck, but I think Andy Samberg did a pretty good job hosting. But that nonsense with Eminem getting smothered by Bruno and storming away…and Kristen Stewart seemingly being blazed out of her mind…and Megan Fox managing to make herself look ugly…and I didn’t even watch the whole show!

Let’s hope the week calms down a little after this…

[Posted by Mallory]

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by | April 8, 2009 · 9:47 pm

cobain died 15 years ago today.

Today is the 15 year anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death.  Being too young, I missed out on the whole grunge thing– but being a pop culture junkie, I appreciate it.  Plus, who doesn’t love a good stick-it-to-the-man attitude?  Thanks for the music, Kurt.

From the Unplugged session with MTV:

And the Smells Like Team Spirit video:

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | April 3, 2009 · 2:04 pm

want to read some funny quotes?

Good, because I felt like looking up a bunch of Jack Handy and Mitch Hedberg quotes that I love:

“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that’s what He’s getting.” [Jack Handy]

“Sometimes I wave to people I don’t know. It’s very dangerous to wave to someone you don’t know because what if they don’t have a hand? They’ll think you’re cocky. ‘Look what I got motherfucker! This thing is useful. I’m gonna go pick something up!'” [Mitch Hedberg] 

      “The next time I have meat and mashed potatoes, I think I’ll put a very large blob of potatoes on my plate with just a little piece of meat. And if someone asks me why I didn’t get more meat, I’ll just say, ‘Oh, you mean this?’ and pull out a big piece of meat from inside the blob of potatoes, where I’ve hidden it. Good magic trick, huh?” [Jack Handy, way better than David Blaine]

“When you go to a restaurant on the weekends and it’s busy they start a waiting list. They start calling out names, they say ‘Dufresne, party of two. Dufresne, party of two.’ And if no one answers they’ll say their name again. ‘Dufresne, party of two, Dufresne, party of two.’ But then if no one answers they’ll just go right on to the next name. ‘Bush, party of three.’ Yeah, what happened to the Dufresnes? No one seems to give a shit. Who can eat at a time like this? People are missing! You fuckers are selfish. The Dufresnes are in someone’s trunk right now, with duct tape over their mouths. And they’re hungry. That’s a double whammy. ‘Bush, search party of three, you can eat when you find the Dufresnes.'” [Mitch Hedberg]

Genius.

Also, my officemate and I were just discussing food metaphors that don’t make sense. Like “another bite of the apple,” which, according to her, is very common among lawyer types. Who only takes one bite of an apple? It’s your apple. I don’t care what you do with it; go ahead, take another bite! Then there’s “have your cake and eat it too.” What kind of crazy person wouldn’t eat their own cake? If I have some cake, I’m going to eat that cake, and I am not going to be made to feel guilty about such a thing.

Deep thoughts by Mallory and E. Lee.

[Posted by Mallory]

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by | March 19, 2009 · 1:36 pm

you were perfection in parent trap.

 As you’ve no doubt heard, Natasha Richardson — famous to lame children of the ’90s like me for her role in the Lindsay Lohan remake of The Parent Trap — died yesterday. I’m not sure why this is affecting me so much, but I am deeply sad about this. I originally heard that she was in serious condition, and then I freaked out yesterday afternoon when I read that she was brain dead, and then I almost cried on the bus when I got a News Alert that she had died.

The papers say that she died in a skiing accident, which makes me imagine her recklessly flying through trees or skiing out-of-bounds on some intense moguls. But what really happened is so much sadder. According to the NYT:

Ms. Richardson, who was not wearing a helmet, had fallen during a beginner’s skiing lesson, a resort spokeswoman, Lyne Lortie, said Tuesday. “It was a normal fall; she didn’t hit anyone or anything,” Ms. Lortie said. “She didn’t show any signs of injury. She was talking and she seemed all right.”

Can you imagine? She was taking a beginner’s ski lesson, and she was okay at first. Stuff like that kills me.

I think I’m sad about this for two major reasons. First of all, she seems like good people. She came from a long line of famous theater folk (even I’ve heard of the Redgraves) and was really well-respected in the theater community. And she’s married to Liam Neeson, who also seems like good people. They were so freaking cute:

I keep imaging the funeral scene from Love Actually, where Neeson’s character gives a eulogy that makes me sob every time and then sends his wife off, at her request, “through the immortal genius of the Bay City Rollers.” It’s life imitating art in the worst way.

The second reason this upsets me so much is that it disrupts the notion that freak accidents don’t happen people you know. When Heath Ledger died, it scared me because he was basically the first celebrity of my generation to die of a drug overdose. When our family friend’s infant child dies of SIDS, it showed me that these things are real. I of course didn’t actually know Natasha Richardson (or Heath Ledger), but somehow their deaths hit close to home.

Anyway. I’m very sad, and my thoughts and prayers go out to Natasha’s family.

[Posted by Mallory]

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by | December 8, 2008 · 6:48 pm

want to see a tissue dance?

mona-lisa-picking-nose

Put a little boogie in it!  Ha-that one will never get old.  Unless, of course, you pick your nose so much that you bleed to death.  Which is exactly what happened to Ian Bothwell who passed away in September at the age of 63 as a result of too much nose-picking.  I imagine that booger jokes lose their appeal at that point–for a variety of reasons.

The Manchester, England coroner who examined Bothwell determined that, “”There is no explanation for this death other than he died from a nose-bleed, consistent with picking his nose. I do not think for a moment he knew what he was doing was going to cause his death.”  According to the UK Telegraph, the death was recorded as a “misadventure.” 

I have to lay off the snark a little here because it’s actually quite a sad story.  Poor Ian Bothwell fell into a life of alcoholism after suffering a brain hemorrhagewhen he was 20.  He couldn’t keep a job and had only one living relative, a sister who he had only seen once in 30 years.  And then . . . he died from picking his nose.  So let’s all do Ian Bothwell a favor.  Let’s learn from his mistake and memorialize him by blowing more often than not.  If you absolutely cannot fight the urge then please, pick with caution–it could be a matter of life and death.

[Posted by Madeline]

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by | December 8, 2008 · 3:33 am

’cause i’m dreaming of you tonight.

On a scale of one to Vampire Weekend, I love(d) Selena. How great is this song?

And just FYI, when you are looking to buy Selena stuff on iTunes, Genius also recommends that you purchase “Lean Like a Cholo.” I realize that they are both, um, Latino, but I just don’t think that’s the same genre. Way to be culturally insensitive, iTunes.

[Posted by Mallory]

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by | November 28, 2008 · 10:44 pm

paul newman really is the best.

I know he died a while ago, but I was just reading a People magazine commemorative issue about Paul Newman, and I was reminded of how freaking awesome he was. I’m certainly thankful for him on this Thanksgiving weekend. Kathleen already posted a bunch of wonderful photos of him a right after his death, but let’s look at a few more: 

Paul and Joanne were simply perfect:

joanneandpaul

And this quote is what prompted me to write this post:

We are such spendthrifts with our lives. The trick of living is to slip on and off the planet with the least fuss you can muster. I’m not running for sainthood. I just happen to think that in life we need to be a little like the farmer, who puts back into the soil what he takes out.

We love you here at SWTCTW, Paul.

[Posted by Mallory]

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by | November 12, 2008 · 3:42 pm

a big week for hairless dogs.

I was emailed not once, but twice, about hairless dogs yesterday.  That should say something.  Some sad news, some better news.  Why do you care about hairless dogs?  Because it’s weird, and they’re funny.  And I feel like writing about it.

Updates on the Obama puppy situation!  The nation of Peru has offered to send one of its national treasures, the Peruvian Hairless Dog to Malia and Sasha.  Pictured below is the little guy, named “Ears”.  If the Obama family accepts the gift, the dog’s official name will be Machu Picchu.  Haha.  I’m going to Peru fairly soon…anybody want me to bring one back?

So here’s the sad news.  The world’s ugliest dog, Gus, a Chinese Crested Hairless, died Monday at the age of 9.  All dogs go to heaven, Gus.  We’ll miss you little guy.  RIP.  He was so ugly, he was cute.

No word on the replacement for the prestigious world’s ugliest dog title.  But leave it to me to keep you updated.

I’m just spreading the love for hairless dogs to the rest of the world.  Just trying to end the discrimination against them and make this world a better place.  Hairless dogs are moving on up!  Soon all you haters will have them too!

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | October 31, 2008 · 8:02 pm

here’s to sweatin’ to the oldies.

Number of times I engaged in a political debate with my sister in the past 24 hours: 3

Number of fun-size Snickers bars currently in my belly: 300

Number of days (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE) until Barack Obama is elected as our next president: 4

Number of beers I plan to drink tonight: 17

Number of days until Halloween: 0!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, MY LITTLE GHOULS AND GOBLINS!

This evening I will be celebrating by dressing up as the one, the only, Richard Simmons. Think afro, tiny neon shorts, and tall white socks. I will obviously be having sex tonight.

So crack open a ice cold Bud Light and a bag of candy corn, pull something wacky out of your costume box (you have one too, right?), and do the Monster Mash.

Make it a good one! 

[Posted by Mallory]

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by | September 27, 2008 · 8:07 pm

actor and philanthropist paul newman dies.

I was really sad to hear today that the legendary Paul Newman has died of lung cancer.  There is an old African saying that says, “every time an old person dies, it is as if a library has burned down.”

Here is what I know about Paul Newman.  He was in over 60 films and was nominated for an Oscar 10 times. He had AMAZING blue eyes.  I love his salad dressing, lemonade and I am popping a bag of Newman’s Own popcorn as I write this.  He was a dedicated Democrat and selfless philanthropist.  All proceeds from Newman’s Own products went to charity.  As of 2006, the amount donated was over $200 million.  Wowie.

He was a known family man.  Here’s a colorful quote he gave after being asked about marital infidelity: “I have steak at home, why go out for hamburger?”

Aww.

You can just tell he was a good guy and a great American.  Read more about his life here, here and here.

Here are some pictures:

Look at those eyes.

RIP Paul Newman.

[Posted by Kathleen]

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