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Here you go, boys. Now everyone is getting some in middle school.
There was a very interesting article in the New York Times yesterday that focussed on a particularly hard-hit county in Minnesota to discuss the socio-economic paradox in which the people who rely the most on the government for assistance during economically difficult times are also the most vocally opposed to that very same government assistance. Aye-aye-aye! (It also discusses the slow transition over the course of the past three decades of the federally funded safety net from helping the very poor to helping the middle class. It’s a really good article. You should read this article.) You can almost understand what these people are upset about. There is a lot of pride wrapped up in accepting “charity” of any kind, but especially Barack Obama’s charity, so to speak. Most of the people interviewed in the article were receiving some kind of assistance, which they resented, and all of them had some cloudy, poorly thought through ideas about how they and the government could spend their resources more wisely while at the same time admitting that they have no idea how they will manage if they’re forced to either pay more taxes and/or give up some of the benefits they’ve come to depend on. It’s a mess. Everyone in the article seems very concerned with the national deficit, which is funny because the national deficit is measured in sums of money that I’m pretty sure the human mind cannot even comprehend. It’s just such a gigantic and abstract thing that is completely dependent on the interconnected global economy. Our elected officials should be concerned with it, but some dude running a flailing t-shirt printing company that used to be a jewelry store probably doesn’t need to lose any sleep over it. That’s not how we fix it. (Speaking of not how we fix it, we don’t fix it by cutting out subsidized lunches for needy schoolchildren. We fix it by not constantly fighting three wars at the same time, some of which may or may not be legal or morally defensible.) But, so, read the article! It’s one of the more interesting portraits of contemporary America, as well as a smart and confounding analysis of the current state of the American psyche as it relates to our shared economic troubles. One imagines that a lot of the people interviewed would agree whole-heartedly with this new clip of Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich complaining about unemployment benefits for people who just “sit around” and “do nothing”:
I thought Zooey’s episode of Saturday Night Live was pretty strong, overall. I’m not sure what the current attitude is with Zooey — if people are disliking her these days, or what. I’m not even sure if I’M disliking her these days, though I think I am, but only a little bit? I don’t know. Keeping track of the list of celebrities a person doesn’t particularly like is VERY hard work. But I do know that she certainly wasn’t doing herself any favors with that opening monologue! Ugh. And I am aware that it was done in a way — having her talk about her heart dress, having her play a dumb song on ukulele — that was like, “Uh, yeah, it’s SUPPOSED to be annoying and kind of poke fun at the Zooey Deschanel character,” but really it was only annoying and the amount that it was actually poking fun at the character compared with the actual amount that it just WAS the character was way too blurred, PLUS THERE WEREN’T ANY JOKES! Just say a dang joke, that what I’m thinking. But the rest of the episode was pretty strong, for the most part having to do with the cast itself rather than Zooey’s (kind of minimal) inclusion in the sketches. Oh, plus the musical guest Karmin was VERY good. Why haven’t I heard of those guys before? So good, super made a lot of sense, totally wasn’t confused about anything about the people or the music they were making or the decision to have them play on SNL just kidding. Let’s talk about some sketches!
Even with the camera turned sideways, this is still better than Katy Perry’s Jennifer Hudson’s “tribute” at the Grammy’s last night. That seemed a lot more like a tribute to Jennifer Hudson than anything else. Relax, Jennifer Hudson. These ladies, on the other hand, only care about one thing: the beautiful music. R.I.P. Whitney Houston. You are in heaven now, dancing with some angels who love you. (Via Gothamist.)
What are you guys doing for Fashion Week this weekend just kiddddding?! Seriously, though, Fashion Week is silly and fashion is probably the most morally offensive of the aesthetic arts (although maybe also the most pure somehow? Or is that abstract painting?). BUT, speaking of fashion, if you don’t have anything going on this weekend, or even just a spare hour and a half at some point, can I recommend watching the documentary Paris Is Burning? It’s amazing. It’s about these drag queen fashion balls in New York in the late ’80s but it’s not just, like, who wears the fanciest dress, they also dress like business people, and students, and street thugs. Oh, and everyone is in a “house” which is like a gay street fashion gang, and each house has a “mother” and everyone else is a “child” of the “house” and they “throw shade” on children from the other houses. I know this documentary is kind of a classic, so forgive me if it’s old news to you, but if you haven’t seen it then get ready for a real treat. See you Monday, gurrrrrrl.
After the jump, the five Highest Rated comments, as voted on by you, the Lowest Rated comment, the winner of the Terry Richardson And Lindsay Lohan Caption Contest, and the Editor’s and Associate Editor’s Choice.
Hey, want to guess how Rick Santorum responded to the news that the Pentagon is easing some gender restrictions for women in combat, opening up nearly 14,000 of the 250,000 positions they’re currently unable to obtain or advance to? Oh and also wanna guess how he feels about opening up any more of those positions? Great! I’ll wait.
BOOM! Didja guess he was going to be a crazy ignorant garbage monster about it? Did you also guess that he clarified this statement by saying he meant “men’s emotional issues, not women,” meaning that he’s worried that men will protect the women rather than fight the bad guys? That they, “may be more concerned with protecting someone who may be in a vulnerable position, a woman in a vulnerable position.” CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE IT? At this point, cataloging all of the ridiculous hateful nonsense that has come out of Rick Santorum’s mouth seems even a little unnecessary. I mean, of course it isn’t, because he is still a monster running for President of the United States of America, and maybe we should be cataloging it more, actually?, but I mean HOLY COW is this guy is just a straight-up dumb asshole! Case EXTRA closed! What I’m curious about, though, is how he’d feel about gay women in combat? Do the two negatives cancel each other out? What do you think, Rick? You gross jerk? Helloooooo? (Via TheDailyWhat.)
- Another day, another set of TV-themed Valentine’s Day cards. This time it’s Downton Abbey! I like this set the best out of ALL the TV-themed Valentine’s Day card sets we’ve seen yet. What an honor. -Kottke
- Would you like to watch a clip from the new David Wain/Paul Rudd/Jennifer Anniston movie Wanderlust? Well here’s one! With a fantastic “Love Take Me Down (to the Streets)” cameo. Great job, boys. -Metacafe
- Daniel Radcliffe treats every interview he does these days like it’s a Thought Catalog essay. Here is him on Watch What Happens Live talking about losing his virginity and some other stuff. What’s up with you, Danny? -PopWatch
- Awwww. Get ready to CRY! This is a clip (so many clips today!) from next week’s Parenthood, featuring Max and his new lower voice and basketball and mean kids at school. -TVGuide
- Do you like Starry Night? Have you visited it at a museum and posed in front of it, like that picture of P Diddy posing in front of the Mona Lisa? Why not? That’s a fun thing to do! Also, have you always wished you could interact with it? Oh, you’re in luck! -TheDailyWhat
- Who’s Hotter: Ryan Reynolds or Ryan Gosling? Celebuzz wants you to answer that question. Uhh, Celebuzz? C’MON! Is anyone going to pick Ryan Reynolds for that thing? Is the Internet the only thing that loves Ryan Gosling but then the rest of the world doesn’t care? What is life like outside? -Celebuzz
- Oh, Nic Cage talked about his vampire lookalike on Letterman last night, speaking of things from the Internet existing in real life sometimes. Great. -BuzzFeed
Is everybody excited for Valentine’s Day? Is everyone saying “YESSSSSSSS” right now? “Yessss, I love writing a card for someone and eating dinner or just not doing anythingggggg.” Is that what you’re saying? I can’t hear you. Can you say your responses louder? HELLO? I know we still have a bunch of days before Valentine’s Day, but this is our last GIF FRIDAY before it, so I’ve included some V-Day GIFs in the bunch. No need to thank me. Just doing my duty as provider of a few holiday theme appropriate GIFs that everyone always enjoys a lot and no one feels neutral about at all. WELCOME TO MY LIFE! Along with those, we have a bunch of GIFs to remind you of the wonderful adventures we went on together throughout this past week. They’re all a delight, and I think you’re going to enjoy them. SO LET’S LOOK AT ‘EM!
