by Jac Kern
04.03.2013
50 days ago
Jac's roundup of pop culture news and Internet findings
As the weather
gets warmer, music lovers tend to get antsy looking forward to summer concerts
and music festivals. There’s Bonnaroo, Forecastle, Bunbury all within a
reasonable drive from Cincinnati, plus tons of touring concerts like The Shins, The Lumineers, country acts galore and the most anticipated tour of them all: The Package. Boy band lovers of the ‘80s and ‘90s will unite for this music spectacular from New
Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men and Cincy’s own 98 Degrees. The tour kicks off next
month and Nick Lachey & Co. may not officially come home until the sold-out
concert June 25, but Buzzfeed is already getting in the spirit with this
collection of photos that reminds us about how Justin Jeffre was essentially
the Michelle Williams of 98 Degrees.
Upon looking up some 98 deets on Wikipedia, I realized dude is the only bandmate
who doesn’t have his own page. And he ran for mayor in 2005! Poor Justin. At
least he took a break from rehearsing to stop by our Best of Cincinnati party
last week (and if you obnoxiously asked him for a photo or just squealed and pointed at his
presence…Shame on you), which was just one
day before the release of the reunited band’s newest single. “Microphone”
(which, according to The Daily Beast’s painstaking analysis, could have also been entitled “Penis”) has all the ingredients for a killer
boy band tune: a danceable beat, barely-subtle phallic references that preteens
could unknowingly sing on the back of the school bus, and lyrics that pay
tribute to the group’s barber shop quartet past (“Say, ‘do-re-mi-fa-sooooo’ ”).
Remember Ryan
Cabrera? He was an early-2000s Pop singer who dated pre-Pete Wentz Ashlee
Simpson and was later resurrected on that post-Lauren Conrad final season of
The Hills that probably only I watched. Well, in a move I can only wish I was bold enough to pull first, he got Ryan Gosling’s face tatted
on his calf. One glance at the InAPPropriate
Comedy trailer and it was obvious — that shit was going to be bad. But as
this Huffington Post live-blog of the — ahem — “film” describes, it was baaad. Like being-inside-Lindsay-Lohan’s-vagina
bad (Spoiler Alert).
The Walking Dead’s
third season finale was Sunday night and, though the season closer was full of ample zombie/Governor scariness, the most terrifying part of the night came
during the live after-show, Talking Dead.
Somehow, this dude managed to make it on the air:
Hey, if you want a
captive, conspiracy-loving audience to stir up, TWD fans are it.
OK, time to get
serious for a minute. I don’t usually like to discuss serious matters like
death or illness on this silly pop culture blog, but this latest news from MTV
is just too crazy to ignore. A cast member from Buckwild, MTV’s take on
the rednecksploitation trend that replaced Jersey
Shore, was found dead in his car after having gone missing over the
weekend. While full details have not officially been released, it’s looking like the
accident is a result of off-roading after a stint at a local watering hole.
Shain Gandee, 21, was found dead with his uncle and a friend in Gandee’s truck,
which was partially submerged in mud. Their deaths have been ruled accidents, caused by carbon monoxide poisoning (with the car's exhaust stuck under mud, fumes filled the car).Obviously, this is tragic and not
something to make light of. What’s really disturbing is that, had this not
taken a terrible turn, the whole drinking-and-mudding scenario is something
that easily would have been included in an episode of the series. Not that MTV
needs to be a beacon for safety (see: Jackass,
Ridiculousness, the Jersey Shore's “smoosh room,” etc.)
But maybe it’s time to seriously re-think what we promote via reality TV
bullshit. Production on the show's second season has since been halted and it has been reported that Gandee's funeral expenses will be covered by Buckwild producers.
And here’s a cute video
of baby Gorilla Gladys at the Cincinnati Zoo to help you recover from that
story.
The HorrorHound convention is a mecca for local fans of the genre
0 Comments · Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Once a year Cincinnati likes to let the
freaks out — but we’re not talking about Halloween. After a 16-month
absence, HorrorHound Weekend descends onto Sharonville promising
vis-à-vis celebrity encounters, film screenings, burlesque performances
and horror author signings.
0 Comments · Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The snow is melting, crocuses are popping
up; it can only mean one thing — a fresh crop of spring shows! Here’s
what to look forward to in the coming months.
0 Comments · Wednesday, March 6, 2013
It’s time to say goodbye to America’s ski-masked sweetheart, a man only known by his alias, “Jon.” Delocated will end with a single, Bourne Identity-esque 30-minute special (12:30 a.m. Friday, Adult Swim).
0 Comments · Tuesday, February 26, 2013
In an unaired episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show,
the queen of all media shocked comedians from across the country and
world as she awarded each of them with their own television series. “You
get a show, and you get a show — everybody gets a show!”
0 Comments · Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Some comic actors are better identified
by their characters they portray, like Ken Marino: You may know him as
Auggie’s slacker step-dad; a Jewish summer camp counselor/unlikely
virgin; or a Los Angeles caterer and future Soup R’ Crackers franchise
owner.
0 Comments · Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Survivor starts its 26th(!)
season this week and the Queen City will see one of its own on the show
as local BMX rider, entrepreneur and musician Matt Bischoff joins the
“Fans vs. Favorites” showdown.
0 Comments · Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Sure, everyone loves a good walker-bashing scene, but it’s the human
element of the series that elevates The Walking Dead as a critically acclaimed and commercially successful drama.
by Jac Kern
01.09.2013
134 days ago
Posted In:
TV/Celebrity,
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Jac's roundup of pop culture news and Internet findings
Thirteen may
historically be an unlucky number, but we’re all sure to be blessed with pop
culture gold this year. Sure, Heidi and Spencer are back on TV and Kim
Kardashian is cooking up a baby with Kanye West — don’t run for the hills quite
yet. The fact that the New Year was rung in by a washed up Jamie Kennedy
and a stoned Macy Gray on this low-budge Los Angeles NYE show
has to be a good sign of what hot messes are to come. Here’s a peek at what’s to come in 2013. Many spoilers
lie ahead; proceed at your own risk.
WINTER
This Sunday, the
Golden Globes (aka the one show where TV and movie stars mingle while drunk) will be hosted by women for the first time ever! OK, the show has only had an
official host since 2010, but it’s been Ricky Gervais every year since. This time around,
dynamic duo Tina Fey and Amy Poehler run the show. The pair have a long
history, back to their improv days at Second City in the ‘90s. Over the past
decade+ they’ve proven their comedic chemistry on Saturday Night Live and in Baby
Mama, but they’re also awesome in their respective rights, as seen on 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation. Check out some of my unlikely-but-hopeful Golden
Globes picks here.
The Chinese
calendar may deem 2013 the Year of the Snake, but according to my diva calendar,
this is definitely the Year of Beyonce. The musical maven, who just celebrated
baby Blue Ivy’s first birthday with hubby and baby daddy Jay-Z, is set to sing
the national anthem at President Obama’s inauguration Jan. 21. Next, she’ll fly
down to New Orleans to headline the Super Bowl halftime show
on Feb. 3. Bey is rumored to perform with a reunited Destiny’s Child (FINALLY)
and the Hov. Just two weeks later, HBO will premiere Queen B’s full-length documentary
on Feb. 16. The Bey-directed doc touts a personal, never-before-seen look at
“Beyonce the person” (there’s no way she’s 100% human, but whatever) as opposed
to Sasha Fierce the performer. A few things I’m really hoping to see: Jay-Z
changing Blue’s Egyptian cotton diaper; Beyonce eating actual solid food; a
baby bump shot to put those pesky rumors to rest; at least 13 different
hairstyles/weaves.
The Walking Dead returns to AMC for the second half of
Season Three on Feb. 10. We’ll pick up with the new Woodbury/prison storylines
introduced in early December’s mid-season finale. Fan fave Daryl has been
captured by the Governor, who places him in the demented fighting arena against
his brother Merle (who was pretty much presumed dead by the group after leaving
a trail of blood and sawed-off hand behind in Season One). Loyalties will
certainly be tested when the Dixon bros meet for the first time and, according
to this sneak peak, the Woodbury clan wants them to battle to the death. Back
at the prison, Rick questions his leadership role and Tyreese (a character
plucked from the comics) will step up as the group’s token black guy. On the other side of the camera, showrunner Glen Mazzara, who took over for
Frank Darabont after a rather sluggish second season, will be stepping down.
Some speculate the move may be due to a lackluster second half of this season,
but Mazzara, AMC and comic creator/exec producer Robert Kirkman all claim the
departure is on good terms.
We’ll see for ourselves next month; meanwhile, check out this preview:
SPRING
At first glance, Game
of Thrones did not seem like my small screen cop o’ tea. I generally don’t read
or watch anything too fantastical/mythical (but bring on the zombies and True Blood), plus the number of
characters and settings almost make fictional family trees and note-taking a
must. Regardless of TV preferences, though, GoT
is an addictive epic. And on March 31, fans will return to Westeros for a third,
slightly super-sized season.
See, in the past, episodes were generally just more than 50 minutes long. This
season promises several eps as long as 57 minutes, ultimately adding up to almost a whole extra episode. Way too nerdy and nitpicky?
Well, that’s Thrones for you. But another
fun addition to this season is that fans can now drink along with the show as New York’s Brewery Ommegang
releases a series of Game of Thrones beer. The first, Iron Throne Blonde Ale, is set
to debut in time for the season premiere.
And speaking of TV
show beer tie-ins, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia will also get its own brew
with Aleman and Two Brothers Brewing Co.’s Dayman Coffee IPA, also slated to come out this
March. Let’s just hope the gang hasn’t touched the stuff.
And since you
can’t even read the word “Dayman” without singing:
Moving along to
May, you better scratch those Star Wars Day
and Cinco de Mayo plans. Cult hit Arrested
Development is coming back with a new season, to be released on Netflix in
its entirety on May 4. Of course, everyone is happy to have a little more Tobias Fünke in their
lives, but this is a huge, possibly telling move for television in general.
Plenty of failed shows gain a following after their demise on TV, but rarely do these
shows actually get picked up again, and certainly not 7 years after
cancellation. My only fear is super-fans’ high expectations will be hard to meet in just a single season. 'Til the release,
catch up on the series and look out for these Easter eggs.
After being pushed
from its original Christmas 2012 premiere date,
Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby will
hit theaters May 10. The director is known for his visually exciting films,
such at Romeo + Juliet (which starred
Gatsby himself, Leonardo DiCaprio) and Moulin
Rouge, and likes to blend contemporary music and themes in with those of
the films’ eras. For example, in the following trailer, Kanye West's “No Church in the Wild” juxtaposes the 1922 setting.
If that's not enough for ya, stay tuned for more 2013 pop culture previews for summer and fall.
0 Comments · Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Fresh off the premiere of Lifetime’s unintentionally hilarious monstrosity, Liz and Dick, comes
a new chapter of a love story that defines a generation. This week, Liz
Lemon and Criss Chross will be joined in holy hotdog matrimony on 30 Rock (8 p.m. Thursday, NBC).