We only had four television stations in my hometown market — yes, this was the pre-cable days of yore — but during the holidays, these stations always recorded (probably on videotape – gasp) personal greetings from the station employees and their families.
These holiday hello’s were always fairly predictable. Staged shots in front of a Christmas tree. Fake snowball fights outside the station. Watching the family dog run off with a present — oh no! But it was still fun to see the people both behind of and in front of the cameras outside their work comfort zone, goofing off with their families.
Over the years, we also got to watch their kids grow up…and the spouses come and go. It was a mini-soap opera cast with local characters, showing only at the holidays.
I had thought this a small town phenomena. Since I left my hometown for college, I haven’t noticed the larger markets adopting such a practice.
And then this year, in New York City, I have seen two stations send greetings from their local employees: WNBC, the big boys, with a graceful gathering near the Rockefeller Center ice rink, and one of the local cable access channels (name unknown), who did the more silly situational humor I remember from my youth.
Kudos to NYC, the biggest little town that I have ever lived in! You’re keeping the holiday spirit alive in ways big and small.
Isn’t there a saying about how Americans rush to our entertainment…and then rush just as quickly to leave it?
I thought about that this week during my walks with Rory in the neighborhood.
Even in the days preceding Christmas, trees already lie abandoned on the edge of the sidewalk, awaiting our three-days-a-week garbage pickup.
How quickly we rush to Christmas, many people putting up their trees before Thanksgiving…and then scurry again to take them down once the presents are opened and faraway family and friends have returned to their homes.
When I was a child, we put the tree up a mere week before Christmas. I imagine that tradition was fueled in part by my mother’s fear of fire, since we always had a real tree. Watering it every day was my job, as was turning off the lights should the tree ever be unattended.
I carry my mother’s caution — and tradition — about live Christmas trees with me to this day.
When I do put up a tree, it’s usually five days or so before the holiday, but I like to leave it up until New Year’s Day, if it’s not too dried out. There’s something especially magical about a Christmas tree after all the hubbub is over, and you can simply sit and enjoy it’s color and sparkle.
It reminds me of the best of my childhood. And I’m in no rush to forget it.
My famous twin with the filthy mouth is comin’ to town this week.
Despite Kathy Griffin cussin’ a blue streak last New Year’s Eve on CNN, the cable giant is bringing her back to co-host their live coverage with Anderson Cooper.
What is CNN thinking?
Last week on “The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson”, Kathy said she will be forced to refund her appearance fee if she curses on the air. Her response to that?
“Tune in, everyone. I really don’t need the money.”
Ya gotta love the balls on the girl. She isn’t the funniest comedian, but she is pure genius at self-promotion. Her Bravo show “My Life on the D-List” is a primer on how to get noticed.
Tragically, she seems to get noticed most for her foul mouth…which seems a bit risky for CNN, especially since she has pretty much guaranteed a repeat performance in 2010.
So, CNN, why not give Anderson a break this year? Team him up with a kinder, gentler Kathy Griffin.
Cast me, Carla Curtsinger, as his New Year’s Eve co-host. I’m funny (not blue at all), live right here in Manhattan, and heck — people tell me every day that I look like Kathy Griffin.
Note: I will keep the appearance fee.
Posted in Holiday, Humor, Television
Tagged Anderson Cooper, Bravo cable channel, Carla Curtsinger, CNN, Craig Ferguson, Kathy Griffin, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, My Life on the D-List, New Year's Eve, Television, The Late
I read all the celebrity rags — and I certainly hope they read me — because today I am throwing a HUGE scoop their way.
It’s not an actual story, but it is the must-have tool to getting those major headlines they so highly covet.
It’s a dog.
I have discovered that, if Rory is with me, or if I am discussing him with another dog owner, they are willing to spill all kinds of personal information at the drop of the hat. I don’t have to ask; I don’t have to care; I don’t even have to want to know.
It just pours out of them. It’s like they have no control.
Take this morning, for instance. My dog Rory and I were returning from our morning walk in Central Park with my sister who is visiting from Oregon. We stopped to chat on the street with a woman who was walking her maltese/poodle mix puppy.
The conversation began innocently enough — what kind of dogs, how old, names, etc. And then it started. Her former dog was a poodle who lived to be 17 years old…before it drowned in her pool…and she’s living with the guilt.
Oh. My. God. Who tells that kind of story…to anyone, let alone a total stranger on the street??
Or there’s the lady on the airplane who, when we were swapping dog owner stories mid-flight, suddenly asked for my advice on the best time to dump her live-in boyfriend — before or after the holidays?
(Perhaps crate training gives me a unique perspective.)
Celebrity press, take note. Paparazzi, paws to consider. Reporters with dogs on leash will get far juicer stories from the famous people you ‘hound’ on a daily basis.
Woof.
Posted in Books & Mags, Dogs, Humor, Television, Travel
Tagged celebrities, Central Park, Dogs, entertainment, magazines, New York City, paparazzi, publishing, Television, Travel
I’m trying to remember the first time I saw or read anything about the movie “It’s Complicated.”
I know I was much younger.
Living in Manhattan, I saw the call for extras for the filming that took place in the city. Back then it was called the “Untitled Nancy Meyers Project,” but with Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin attached to the movie, we were already convinced it was going to be amazing.
And we were right.
Because even though the final title is “It’s Complicated,” it really couldn’t be more simple.
Take a woman nearing 60 with everything — and I mean everything: unbelievable home, successful career, supportive friends, three beautiful Stepford children (and I mean that with love) — except a man in her life, and then suddenly give her two attractive men fighting over her.
What’s complicated about that?
I mean, sure, juggling the two men is complicating. But when you have Meryl, Alec and Steve doing the balancing act, it is high comedy in its simplest form. I loved it as much as I expected to, if not a bit more.
One tiny surprise? John Krasinski. Sure, we all love him as Jim in “The Office,” but who expected him to shine — and steal almost every scene he is in — amongst this stellar cast?
Simple, simple, simple. And hilarious.
Posted in Humor, Movies, Television
Tagged Alec Baldwin, It's Complicated movie, John Krasinski, Meryl Streep, Movies, Nancy Meyers, New York City, New York City movies, Steve Martin, The Office
And so it is Christmas.
When I was a little girl, every Christmas morning you would find me in the kitchen , making fruit salad for the big Christmas lunch that my Mom held for family friends. The people in attendance might change, but the menu — baked hen and ham — and the holiday event at our house were a reassuring tradition.
Christmas Eve was also the same evening year after year. Mass in the early evening. Home for appetizers and homemade candy before opening gifts. A strictly family affair, I can remember being rather peeved the first time one of my brothers introduced a girlfriend into the proceedings.
Tradition was so important back then.
Now that my mother is gone, and my brothers and sisters are scattered across the country, our holiday ‘tradition’ changes every year. We exchange gifts via Skype now — how cool is that? The day and time changes every year now, but that’s part of the adventure.
Just being together in whatever way works — that’s the tradition that is most important.
Merry Christmas everyone!
When I started the Sticky Egg, I chose to focus on what some people might consider the ‘fluffier stuff’ of life.
Television. Movies. Celebrities. Fashion. Websites that talk about television, movies, celebrities and fashion.
It’s what I enjoy. It’s what makes me laugh and cry and, more often than not, is a reflection of where we stand on the bigger issues in life.
And now even the Vatican is starting to espouse my theology.
In an article in Tuesday’s L’Osservatore Romano (the Vatican newspaper), they praised “The Simpsons” for the ‘realism and intelligence of its scripts’ (even though they still had to ding the series for the language used in some episodes).
While in the past the Pope has condemned television series for their content probably without ever watching them — can you say “Soap?” — now apparently bored Cardinals at the Vatican are watching at least this animated cartoon and getting its relevance to real life.
While I haven’t listened that closely to Rome in many years, I know millions of people do. So I hope someone shows the Cardinals “Modern Family.” I’d love for the to Vatican come out — pun intended — in support of that real family sitcom.
Posted in Humor, Internet, Television
Tagged Movies, Television, Internet, celebrity gossip, Fashion, religion, Vatican, L'Osservatore Romano, The Simpsons, Pope, Soap televison series, Catholic cardinals, Modern Family television series
Ya gotta love Popeater.com.
The website that religiously follows all things celebrity — and that I therefore follow religiously — recently polled its faithful, asking “Who is the most overexposed couple of 2009?”
Not surprisingly, Jon and Kate Gosselin, the reality show parents of eight who became even more irritating and media-saturating when they separated and subsequently divorced, were chosen as the number one overexposed couple by 56 percent of Popeater’s voting public.
(They easily beat out last year’s winner of this dubious honor, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who managed a measly 22 percent of the vote.)
Now, online polls are fun. I usually take them — heck, I probably took this one.
But in this particular instance, I have to wonder if the editors of Popeater.com stopped and thought: if our readers already consider these couples overexposed and are sick of hearing about them, should we do a poll that will result in another article highlighting the couple, reviewing their year in the news, and giving them yet another platform for media attention?
Did anyone really think this through?
Of course, you could argue that this very blog is giving these gross offenders yet another few column inches of space…and you would be right.
Damn. They got me, too.
Posted in Humor, Internet, Television
Tagged Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, celebrity relationships, entertainment, Jon and Kate Plus 8, Jon Gosselin, Kate Gosselin, Popeater.com, realtive television, Television
When I logged into AOL today — yes, I have an AOL account, have since the dawn of the Internet, and dang it, probably always will — one of the homepage headlines read:
How Facebook Is Tricking Its Users
It’s a good headline. It applies to a large and ever-growing audience, and smacks of scandal and intrigue. I immediately clicked on the link.
Turns out it was referring to the recent changes in Facebook’s privacy policy. The mega social network’s default privacy settings for a member’s personal information went from ‘friends only’ to ‘everyone,’ and no less than 10 privacy organizations have filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission.
Oh, the humanity.
I suppose I shouldn’t make light of the situation. But I am. Facebook announced the change to members in a pop-up window on their homepages. That window included instructions outlining, step-by-by, how to change your personal privacy settings from the new default to whatever you wanted them to be.
It was pretty darn straightforward, I thought.
Let’s remember how much we pay for Facebook, everyone — not a frickin’ cent. Nada. Nothing. We are occasionally annoyed by an ad or two in the right-hand column, but they are easily ignored. Heck, ads in television shows are much more in your face, and they certainly don’t stop us from watching “Modern Family” or “GLEE.”
So, instead of crying to the FTC or to each other about this change, why not just accept the new privacy defaults as rules of the house? Rules we have been given free rein to change…in the house that we live in for free...that we can move out of at any time that we like.
There’s that word again — free.
When you think about it, Facebook is hardly the big bad boogie man. He may just be the landlord of your dreams.
Posted in Humor, Internet, Television
Tagged America Online, AOL, Facebook, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Internet, pop-up window, privacy, privacy policy, social media, Television, television advertising
