Rachel Ray is throwing another food-and-indie rock party at SXSW this year. She told EW.com: "Some of the bands are new to me, like the Thermals and Semi Precious
Weapons, but I sincerely love all of them. I'm a huge Hold Steady fan!
Seriously.*"
I'm not one to hate on my favorite indie band's successes, but I didn't think Rachel Ray would be the one to introduce them to larger audiences. What does she know about "kids with kidney stones giving birth to bloody stereos"? Then again, what the hell do I know about it?
Next up:
Gordon Ramsey Presents . . . Passion Pit
Martha Stewart Presents . . . Fucked Up
The Frugal Gourmet** Presents . . . No Age
Anyway, after listening to The Hold Steady go from obscurity to "Ray Darlings," I'm happy for them. They'll eat the best food at SXSW this year. The only drawback is they have to listen to Rachel Ray's husband's band, The Cringe. Their "ironic" band name hits a little too close to home.
* Doesn't it sound like she was poorly coached to say that by her "indie" husband? "Seriously, I love them . . . why doesn't anyone believe me that I love the Steady Hold?"
**The Frugal Gourmet is dead, so that joke has a sad ending.
I've started seeking professional help. Moving to New York in the worst economy has gotten the best of my confidence. Because I'm broke, I go to a "budget counseling center," you can call it. This week I tell my therapist that I have a lot of anxiety about my production output. She nods and says, "Yeah, I have another writer patient and he complains about the same thing." Instantly, I felt better and excited. "Another writer sees the same therapist as I do . . . New York is full of famous writers. I wonder if it's John Hodgman . . . or probably James Frey, he has a lot of problems." Then I thought, "No, any good writer wouldn't be caught dead with this community college educated psychologist, he must suck." That's not a healthy thought. Counseling is supposed to help confidence issues.
Last week the New York Post ran the above cartoon, taking a shot at Obama's stimulus bill. They've since apologized and now Rupert Murdoch has even issued an apology because ignorant people have been looking at this and think it's racist: "The Post is calling Obama a monkey." No they're not. Any intelligent person who reads the news knows that last week Connecticut police shot and killed a chimpanzee after it mauled a person. The cartoon is linking those two stories. It's timely and well-done. This cartoon would have been absolutely fine if Bush were still in office. A newspaper as large as the Post wouldn't run a blatantly racist cartoon. Those offended are being overly sensitive and place more importance on Obama's race than true racists have been. I'm a huge supporter of Obama, but can we get past his race and focus on what's important, his actions as our president.
I knew Sean Penn deserved to win, but I was too afraid to say so because I thought Rourke was gonna carry the sympathy card. Let this be a lesson . . . just pick your picks. Oh, Penelope Cruz also was my pick. I swear. She was amazing. I didn't see all the Oscar films, but I saw those.
Again, not sure the deal. But I can't embed this video. Go here and check it out though. One of my funniest I've done for Asylum, I think.
http://www.asylum.com/2009/02/20/oscar-tie-in-toys-what-the-academy-awards-need/
