fourfour

The year in "I'm not here to make friends!"

A year ago today, I posted my supercut of people saying various iterations of "I'm not here to make friends" over and over and over again on reality TV. So much has changed since then -- Obama became president, the sinking economy went belly up, Sarah Palin became queen of her own ass, then sank, then went belly up, etc. And yet, as the video above (containing examples of my most favorite of televised cliches that have been uttered in the time since the first video) proves, they've also stayed much the same.

Original video is below, in case you don't know what I'm talking about.

Another week in the Benevosphere

Look, I'm not saying that I'm going to recap The Real World every week. I'm not not saying that I'm going to recap it either. Right now, all I'm saying is that I can't very well be expected to hold my tongue when I see something like this...

...now, can I?

The Get-Along-Gang

First of all, I think I love the new season of The Real World. It's such a strange feeling, this shiny newness.

Second of all, I know I love this guy:

 

fourfour's 44+ reasons to love 2008 (Part 5 - 4-1)

At last, we've come to the end. I can't believe how ridiculously time-consuming this thing was! It was seriously like packing a year into a week. Actually, take the "like" out and that sentence is just as accurate.

fourfour's 44+ reasons to love 2008 (Part 3 - 24-15)

My heart goes on.

And in other news, beware of exploding bunnies.

fourfour's 44+ reasons to love 2008 (Part 1 - 44-35)

I tend to bemoan list-making, when I'm asked to do so. And yet, here I am compiling not just a Top 10 singles/albums/movies/moments/boys that made me swoon of the past year, but a 'cross-the-board, mixed-media uber-list of my favorite things about 2008. Maybe it's that I'm getting older (like, monumentally so), maybe it's that I'm getting easier to amuse, or maybe it's just that 2008 was brimming with noteworthy pop culture, but whatever the case (even though I think it's more the latter than anything), something's telling me to organize my year in entertainment into a countdown. So that's what I'm doing this week: 10 items per day, except for Friday, which will carry the Top 4 (and maybe a few things I hated about this year, as well). A lot of what shows up shouldn't be surprising, but I'm also going to take the opportunity to cover some stuff I loved but never got around to writing about or felt that my take didn't deviate enough from popular opinion to warrant sharing. It maybe still doesn't, but hey, hindsight's 20/20 so I'm gonna hold onto that, just like I expect you to hold onto that grain of salt you should always take with lists in general and me specifically. Because if 2008 has taught me anything, it's that the more things change, the more comfort there is to be taken in cliches.

Actually, I already knew that before 2008, but whatever.

I interviewed Margaret Cho

I try to keep my day job as separate from my fourfour job as possible, which is hard considering the disproportionate about of time I spend thinking about I Love Money and all sorts of televised cleavage. Still, what happened last week was too exciting for me not to share here. And you already know what it is because you read the headline above.

The interview was much longer than this, and more of it is going to be rolled out in segments this week. I'll update this post with links, since the part above is the most VH1-centric part of our chat (it's set-up for her reality show, see), and not my favorite one (the best is the one that I think is going up Thursday, in which she tells me a story about how Sharon Stone was a total cunt when she met her during the height of Basic Instinct insanity). But since this is the first, and since I'm so excited, I thought it prudent to post ASAP.

I'm posting this not just because I'm proud of it and I don't expect people to follow what goes on in VH1 territory, but to convey how meaningful it was for me to talk with Margaret. I was 15 when her HBO comedy special first aired (the one in which she wore the black catsuit) and its effect on me went beyond fleeting laughter. As I told her when the interview was over: "Before I knew (like really knew) I was gay, I knew I loved Margaret Cho, and I don't think that's a coincidence." The road to self-acceptance seemed unending for so many of my formative years, and it was truly a thrill to meet someone who helped me on my way.

Update: The funniest of the videos, in which Margaret talks about her meeting with Sharon Stone has been posted:

And the final segment is here.

"I'm not here to make friends": A montage

I feel like my entire life has led up to this point:

Incidentally, I do sort of agree with this sentiment particularly at the gym and specifically in the locker room.

One to watch?

I'm not saying I'm going to cover TV Land's modeling competition for women over 35, She's Got the Look, but I'm not saying I'm not not covering it. I'm playing El DeBarge right now and saying that time will reveal. Certainly, the first episode, which aired last week and much of the weekend and is probably on right this second, was promising -- the show seems to be nothing more than America's Next Top Model Lady, and ganking ANTM's format is a wise choice indeed (since any televised modeling competition that's deviated from the format has pretty much sucked). On the plus side, the tears abound and it is named after a Roxette song. On the negative side, the pacing is Bravoish. That's worrisome, but also appropriate -- there's a gentle hilarity in an exchange like the following:

Aspiring Model Lady 1: How long have you been married?
Aspiring Model Lady 2: My 16th anniversary was yesterday.
Aspiring Model Lady 3: Oh my gosh, and you were on a plane?

You know? It's not exactly Tyra's Circus, but maybe it'll do. Of course, the main reason it's too early to call is that the first episode was devoted to finding the 10 ladies who'll really compete. You can't judge a reality show by its semi-finals round, just like you can't judge a book by its cover. The first episode was the usual freak show (Tracie put together a clip of the greatest auditions on Jezebel), and it could be all downhill from here. Still, I remain hopeful that this will be ANTM off-season replacement therapy, like Premarin for our senses of irony.   

Mother: fucker

Because I have an insatiable urge to refer to Dina Lohan as "Demon Lohan," I scoured last night's premiere of Living Lohan to find the frame in which she looked her most devilish, and here's what I came up with:

Not bad, right? It's only appropriate: DeLo gets her own reality show, our culture enters a new circle of hell.