You've found Father McKenzie. But are you really looking for Eleanor Rigby?

Thursday, May 25, 2006

We'll always have Paris... or Baghdad

'HELLO, IS IT ME YOU'RE LOOKING FOR? The quagmire worsens: Iraq is now hopelessly split between Shia theocrats, Sunni insurgents, Kurdish separatists and Lionel Richie fans...'

- Mark Steyn, SteynOnline

'... Grown Iraqi men get misty-eyed by the mere mention of his name... Iraqis who do not understand a word of English can sing an entire Lionel Richie song. This is the same Lionel Richie who wrote “Say You, Say Me.” This is the same Lionel Richie who is the father of some young woman named Nicole. Yes, that Lionel Richie. Could he really be an Iraqi icon? I decided I had to investigate, and not just investigate, I decided I had to ask Lionel Richie himself. So I called him from Baghdad. Actually it was a formal interview. It was the first interview with Lionel Richie ever on the subject of Iraq and Iraqis. I asked Richie if he knows just how big he is here. He said, "The answer is, I’m huge, huge in the Arab world. The answer as to why is, I don’t have the slightest idea." He has performed in Morocco, Dubai, Qatar and Libya. There is obviously something up there. The more we talked, the more he theorized as to the reasons his music might be so popular here. He thinks it is because of the simple message in his music: Love. Richie says he was told Iraqis were playing "All Night Long," on the streets the night US tanks rolled into the country in 2003...'

- John Berman, "Baghdad’s Lionel Richie Obsession", ABC News (19 May 2006)

'We think we’ve created something really fun, even though our two co-stars are generally not speaking to each other... I think it’s probably easier to fix Iraq than it is to fix Paris and Nicole.'

– Producer Jon Murray on filming The Simple Life: Til Death Do Us Part with two feuding stars.


Just as long as you don't roll a golden apple towards her... or introduce her to Geoffrey Rush's wife.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Once a Queen of Na-...

... -boo, you get typecast in films about Virgin Births.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Violent Jetta ads...

'... I'm not sure Jetta's target demo can be convinced to care about safety. But I'm thoroughly convinced that these ads will haunt their dreams and keep the Volkswagen brand at the front of their thoughts. That's half the battle....'

-- "Wham! Bam! Buy a VW, Ma'am! The violent new Jetta ads", by Seth Stevenson, Slate.com (posted Monday 8 May 2006).

How about this one?

Monday, May 08, 2006

Lost in translation

There are certain fine shades of meaning in English, particular phrases that may connote a meaning that the dictionary doesn't quite convey in their fullness. You have to be careful about unintended word associations and other Anglophonic assumptions.

Especially if you're a Scandinavian.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Gimme my $3 to $6 million

Photos of Suri are worth big money:

... the next "Top Gun" among celebrity photographers will be the one who snaps a picture of the infant daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. "This could go from anywhere from $3 [million] to $5 million, depending on the bidding war that ensues" ...

-- Buck Wolf [*], "Multimillion-Dollar Bounty on TomKat Baby Photo," ABC News (19 April 2006)


Okay then, here's a photo of Suri. Now gimme gimme gimme.

[*] Buck Wolf? Wasn't he a commando in that Xbox game, you know, that one?