Welcome to In A Lather. i'm sookie, and here you'll find my takes on celebs, tv shows and movies that are favs of mine, that i hope are or soon will be favs of yours too. Also events in the entertainment and fashion industry.Thanks for stopping by, and please feel free to comment.
TV Land has a terrific new show, How'd You Get So Rich?, hosted by Joan Rivers. Return visitors to In A Lather may recall that reality shows are usually not my cup of tea. With a few exceptions, TV Land's The Foreman Family, The E! Channel's Pam: Girl On The Loose, and now TV Land's How'd You Get So Rich?. Aside from the fact that these three shows have iconic figures associated with them, they have something else in common---they're entertaining, and worth your time to watch.
In the case of How'd You Get So Rich?, it has what i categorize as the Don King factor. No, not a shock of kinky hair, oh no wait, one of the entrepreneur's products does have that on a hat, but that's not what i'm referring to. It's the "only in America" element of the show's "richies" as Ms.Rivers calls them. These multi-millionaires, and in some cases multi-billionaires, are all self-made, achieving their monetary riches through, hard work, perseverance, and ingenuity.
i intentionally use the phrase monetary riches, because as Ms Rivers points out of one of the subjects, 80 yr old Blaine, the $100,000,000.00 New Orleans Louisiana Mardi Gras King, he is rich not only in money, but also in family and friends. Blaine grew up during the depression, and at the age of 20, to pay his mother's medical bills, he painted a mural for the doctor who was treating her. The doctor was so pleased with Blaine's work, he commissioned another mural depicting Mardi Gras parades. Today Blaine The Mardi Gras King who is also a philanthropist, owns 2/3rds of the city of New Orleans.
The other part of the show that i get a kick out of are the Get Rich Quickies segments, where all across America Joan combs the streets looking for people who look wealthy, and asks them about their cars, wardrobe, jewelry, coiffure and of course, how'd they get so rich. All inspirational, or as Ms Rivers says aspirational [i love that description], rags to riches stories.
TV Land Prime's How'd You Get So Rich?, hosted by Joan Rivers airs Wednesdays at 10:00pm on TV Land. Please check your local listings. If you miss any episodes or just want to see them again, TV Land provides full episodes on-line.
i don't know how i came to miss the first 2 seasons of AMC's Mad Men, but after seeing it's 3rd season opener "Out Of Town", i have vowed i will be a devoted follower from here on in. There are 38 eps remaining in the 3rd season and i am very much looking forward to them. After seeing one episode, it's easy to see why Mad Men has won 3 Golden Globes and 6 Emmy Awards. Matthew Weiner's creation about a Madison Avenue advertising agency has the ability to transport the viewer to another time. It captures the fashion, the decor, the social mores [if not the social unrest] of the early 1960's, and more specifically early 1960's corporate America.
i do have one complaint about the cast---the lack of minorities. i was willing to accept that when the scenes were taking place in NYC on Madison Avenue, even though in the back of my mind i kept thinking, that surely in the lobby of the building that houses the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency, there would be a person of color at the newsstand, or a shoeshine man. Or in the offices if not a receptionist or secretary [i didn't dare hope for an executive] perhaps a maintenance person. Or outside the building a cabdriver. After watching the scene [several times] where copywriter Peggy [played by Elizabeth Moss] and office manager Joan [played by Christina Hendricks] are chatting as they wait for the elevator i did see one woman walk by at a 'blink and you'll miss her' pace who i'm pretty sure was black. From her wardrobe and grooming quite possibly a secretary, or receptionist, or perhaps a switchboard operator. Then i thought when two of the main characters Don Draper [played by Jon Hamm] and Salvatore Romano [played by Bryan Batt] took a business trip to Baltimore Md.[the actor playing the senior client nails the Baltimore accent BTW], that surely more minorities would appear---but no, not even in the background.
i'm willing to forgive this oversight [though i am hoping that it will be addressed in future episodes/seasons]. Why? Because the scripts are great. The cliquey world of office politics and the requisite jockeying for advantageous position are in full effect. Mr.Weiner and company have taken the AMC slogan "Story Matters Here" to heart. i can't help but think that is also why the real life sponsors of Mad Men make the effort to have the advertisements for their products compliment the look and feel of the show [see Clorox' ad posted at In A Lather].
Also the current cast is brilliant. i am still getting acclimated, but of course i love Robert Morse as Bertram Cooper, Senior Partner of the Sterling Cooper Agency. Casting him is a stroke of genius. For anyone out there who hasn't seen "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying", run do not walk to your DVD provider to see Mr.Morse's performance. my other Mad Men cast favs are Christina Hendricks' Joan Holloway---she is a pulchritudinous goddess, and Fierce with a capital F. Mr.Hamm's Don Draper and Mr.Batt's Salvatore Romano play extremely well off each other. The closeted Salvatore's pathos is subtle enough that you feel his pain, but he's strong enough that you know in your heart that he's destined to be out loud and proud before too long [despite the fate of a former colleague after his declaration]. Jon Hamm as hetero horndog Draper is seductive in every sense of the word. However emotionally disfunctional Draper may be, watching him is totally pleasurable.
Mad Men airs Sundays at 10:00pm on AMC. Please check your local listings.
i love William Shatner. He's funny, sexy, artistically prolific, loves horses, and gives great interviews. i discovered the other day that he's equally adept at getting interviews. Airing on the Biography Channel, Shatner's Raw Nerve is a great talk show. i think the secret to the show's appeal, aside from the celebrities [Leonard Nimoy, Jenna Jameson, Tim Allen, Fran Drescher, to name but a few] that sit for a chat with 'The Shat' is that he employs a skill that many interviewers have forgotten [if they ever did make use of]---he listens. As a result, not only are the subject's responses more interesting, it allows Shatner the chance to take the topic discussed to the next level.
i don't usually watch talk shows---oh i've seen a few eps of Ellen and Fox' recently renewed Wendy Williams Show, and i enjoy Jay Leno and Letterman, but the former has been on hiatus and they're both on past my usual bedtime. But in general, imho, the genre has not had a good example for generations. i'm very 'old school' in my taste for talk---Johnny Carson, Steve Allen, Mike Douglas, David Susskind, Virginia Graham, David Frost, Dick Cavett. The last two no longer interview, and the ones mentioned before them, unfortunately are no longer with us.
The other thing that's appealing about Shatner's Raw Nerve is the set. The decor is extremely tasteful, and i especially like the way the chairs are positioned---as one guest remarked, like a loveseat. Shatner's Raw Nerve is a feast for the eyes, the ears, and the brain.
Shatner's Raw Nerve airs on the Biography Channel. Please Check your local listings.
Sunday September 27, 2009 9:00pm Showtime's Dexter is back for it's 4th season. When 'the dark passenger' returns he's a sleep deprived, double-life juggling suburbanite, newlywed, father of 3. The most recent addition to the Morgan household is baby Harrison, named in honor of his grandpa, Dexter's foster dad, the late Harry Morgan.
FBI special agent Frank Lundy [Keith Carradine] enlists Dexter's help in catching the newest monster in Miami. Walter Simmons [John Lithgow], dubbed 'The Trinity Killer', slaughters in threes and has done so across the U.S. for 3 decades. Dexter envies, admires, and is intrigued by 'The Trinity Killer', "the most successful serial killer ever---to get away with it". Should be interesting to see how this plays out. Will they swap techniques? Despite their differing motives, will Dexter see in Walter a kindred spirit as he did in Jimmy Smits' Miguel Prado? And if so, will Walter come to the same fate as Miguel, and find himself on the receiving end of the brand of justice of "America's favorite serial killer"? Or will he be extended a professional courtesy and be allowed to continue to kill?
What about Deb and Special Agent Lundy's relationship? Will Lt.LaGuerta be able to keep her hands off Dexter---she wants him in the worst way. Will she be able to keep the secret about Miguel being a murderer? Will Rita discover Dexter's secrets? Having to wait 7 weeks and 3 days 'til we have the answers to these and other Dexter questions---is murder!
i'm a gemini from wash.dc, married 35 yrs to an aries from san antonio texas.
i'm sookie, he's tex, together we are sookietex.
Many people think i adopted the name sookie after HBO's TrueBlood heroine Sookie Stackhouse.
Nope. It's not my birth name, but my older brother gave me the nickname sookie when i was a baby.
Best and might i add most prescient gift bro' ever gave me ;D
hubby and i live in nyc and even though we like it here, we dream of the day when we'll pull up stakes and move to austin, or maybe some other town in the lone star state.
a bit more about me and In A Lather public domain image credits
library of congress prints and photographs online: secession bubbleknow nothing soap
i am a child of the south, a "boomer", born in 1958, a child of the television age. This was a time when "African-Americans" referred to themselves as "colored". In fact on my birth certificate under racial description, "colored" is the word that is used. Today i still affectionately refer to myself as a "colored child". my paternal great grandpa was Blackfoot Nation, and my maternal great grandmother was also Native American, [but i have not found out which Nation]---i affectionately refer to that part of my heritage as 'injun'---hey i'm never going to be described as politically correct and have no desire to be.
my mother was a woman who was far ahead of her time in terms of "feminist" survival. Long before it was fashionable, she was a single parent. She did have support, and not just financial from my pop, but they did not live together as husband & wife. In fact they never did take that walk down the aisle...but that's another story. Mom was a woman who worked outside the home long before most women of her generation would have even thought of making that choice, much less do it. She fully appreciated the value, neccessity, and strength of a loving extended family. She did not need anyone to tell her it "takes a village".
When mother was at work, i, the youngest of 4 (2 sisters 1 brother & me), was alternately cared for by mother's eldest sister, "auntie" as we used to call her, and our nextdoor neighbors. They were like family to us. We called the elder woman 'grandma' (to this day I do not know her given name), and her daughter Miss Elsie, or more usually 'aunt'Elsie. They were very religious folk. God fearing, bible reading, honest, and i and my family loved them dearly. 'Aunt'Elsie always made sure my days were full of activity, but one of my favorite times of the day was when she would look at her watch and say "oh my, we'd better hurry, it's almost time for my stories". By her 'stories'
she of course meant the day's soap operas. For Elsie and her mother, watching the soaps was sort of a guilty pleasure, but at the same time they made it seem sacred. It was a ritualistic activity. Her favorites were The Edge of NightThe Secret Storm and General Hospital
Paul Harvey would say i am giving you "the rest of the story" so that you may better understand its importance, and how it relates to the spirit of this blog. Which is to say we all have drama of some level going on in our lives, so sometimes the plotlines of our favorite shows may seem either tame, empathetic, or absurd, depending on where life may take you on any given day.
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