WE’RE BACK! We’re calling this the start of Season 2 due to the hiatus between this and our last missive. We’re rewarding you for your patience with a super not timely discussion of the series finale of HBO’s polygamy drama Big Love! Take also as a consolation the handy timecodes listed below!
00:01:18 – Noting a few lulzy things from the leadup to the Royal Wedding
00:04:19 – The Big Love series finale. Do the showrunners think Bill Henrickson is a hero? Would, in fact, the show have been better without him?
00:41:00 – Miscellaneous TV talk including Drop Dead Diva, The Good Wife and some of our predictions for the forthcoming season of Mad Men
00:50:00 – Jenny makes a disrecommendation for the Gaspar Noé flick Enter the Void, and Cynara urges caution about watching Blue Valentine.
01:05:04 – In an attempt to end on a positive note, we recall the glorious moment that was the confluence of the viral hit “Friday,” Stephen Colbert and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Unfortunately, something is wonky with the iTunes feed, so it won’t appear in your iTunes subscriptions just yet. SADFACE. Working now!
MP3 Version:
Clockwise from top left: Ellen Page in Inception; Mila Kunis in The Book of Eli; Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit; Natalie Portman in Black Swan
HELLO EVERBODY! We’re back after an extended absence! Cynara was back in Winnipeg for the holidays, so scant days before she returns to land of plenty known as Vancouver, we recorded a podcast — and we did it when we were in the same room, my kitchen!
NOTE: This episode has what they call in the business a “cold open.” Also, the humming sound that appears intermittently is my refrigerator.
Thank you for your patience.
DISCUSSED:
-We love Ellen Page, blah blah, what else is new?
-Weird rambling about sci-fi, Minnie Driver, Vancouver-made TV, The Ghost Whisperer‘s inexplicable storylines
-Shout outs and baby stories
-Black Swan: Cynara gives her thoughts on this psychological thriller, PLUS: Tales of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet
-The Book of Eli: Jenny liked it, though the Tomatometer didn’t. PLUS: Why Mila Kunis should play an alien on Star Trek.
-Celebrity-written novels and poetry (Specifically: Macaulay Culkin and Jewel), and why rap and pop lyrics might not be poetry on their own (sans performative aspect), no matter how hard Jay Z tries to convince us.
-Winter’s Bone: Jenny’s favourite flick of the year.
-True Grit: Cynara’s got nothing but praise for Hailee Steinfeld, PLUS: Snakes!
LINKS:
Showgirls/Black Swan Trailer MASHUP [Buzzfeed]
That super cool snake pic [Tumblr]
END MUSIC:
The Tragically Hip, “Ahead by a Century.”
Hello all. Just so you know, this podcast is NOT defunct. We promise. It’s just that life of late has presented certain barriers to making new episodes and we apologize for our absence. That is, if you miss us. Anyway, we will have a new episode as soon as we are able. And hey — cross your fingers that Cynara will be able to come home for Christmas and then maybe we can record a special FOI where both of your hosts are in the same room! That would be cool!
But! If the absence of our brainspew in your life is palpable, there is a remedy! Together we wrote an article which appears in the new issue of Geez Magazine – the Super Cyber Issue. It’s called “New Platforms for Old Oppressions*,” and it’s about how the internet replicates the same crappy power structures that dominate the “real” world. Like class and race and also the privileging of individualism over the product of collective work. And I can guarantee you that our article is far from the most interesting thing in this rag, so pick it up or order it on the website.
*Fun fact: the working title I gave our piece was “The New Adventures of Old Kyriarchy,” but that, as I expected, was a bit to pop culturey for Geez.
**THERE ARE MAD MEN SPOILERS IN THIS PODCAST**
Our pal and Mad Men megafan Margarita joins us once again to hash out topics surrounding the fourth season of AMC’s Mad Men and its season finale, including:
-Was the finale a poor episode, or are fans just upset that it didn’t go the way they wanted?
-Lamenting Mad Men‘s continuing racefail
-The long-awaited onscreen emergence of “Poan” (pictured above)
-Is Joan’s a “bad” marriage?
-How about that abortion storyline?
-Fat suit flashback
-Our ~*^hopes and dreams^*~ for next year
Links:
“Chalky White: Boardwalk Empire’ puts ‘Mad Men’ to shame” [TheLoop21.com]
“No One’s Ever on Your Side: Betty Draper Francis Still Needs Your Love” [Tiger Beatdown]
“Do Multiple Abortions Actually Harm Your Ability to Conceive?” [Jezebel]
End music:
“Cato as a Pun” by Of Montreal
Jesse Eisenberg and Joseph Mazello in The Social Network
Nuit Blanche 2010 at the Winnipeg Art Gallery
Discussed:
Nuit Blanche — it’s sweeping the globe! And it came to Winnipeg before New York, apparently. A bit on some Winnipeg art stuff — Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, Mark Saunders, Wanda Koop. Plus: cop talk.
The Social Network — Cynara gives her (favourable) thoughts on the Facebook movie. They’re favourable mostly vis a vis something called “The Peter Griffin Factor.”
Links:
We fatsplain some of Winnipeg’s bookselling history and how it includes the centre of the universe, New York City. Know your McNally Robinsons and your Aqua Books and your Hollys and your Kellys. Specifically your Kelly Hugheses. Cynara gets a taste of her own Winnipeg-booster medicine. Also, what’s the deal with Winnipeg’s bookstore/restaurant combos?
Cynara’s Movie Corner: Easy A. Did she like it? Three guesses and the first two don’t count. Spoiler alert: she didn’t hate it. And Emma Stone is worthy of her own comedy vehicle.
-The importance of female relationships in TV and movies. Buffy is high on this scale; Star Trek: The Next Generation is low.
-We’re still waiting for “our” Superbad or The Hangover. (The good news is, there are some people who might be writing it!)
-Cynara catches Jenny up on the latest “juicy” development on Gossip Girl. (BTW, the actor in question is Penn Badgley.)
-Jenny’s TV Time, where she spends waaaay more time than is strictly necessary trying to convince you to watch Community. Ken Jeong is a medical doctor, did you know? Also, Community does right by Betty White.
-Brief comment on Modern Family, Weeds, Hawaii Five-O; less brief comment on The Big C (Starring Laura Linney and Gabourey Sidibe!)
-Vampire dramas are so 2008. Where are the manticore dramas? Or the centaur dramas? (Couple spoilers for the Buffy Season 8 comic books here). Manticore Mansion! Mermaid 90210!
-Jenny would be into Nikita and Undercovers if she weren’t completely tired of spy shows.
(Note: Cynara was right — Maggie Q is Hawaiian-born. Her Asian heritage is Vietnamese)
(Note to background-laughing Derek: You are the WORST.)
APOLOGETIC NOTE: Cynara regrets using classist/racist terminology for a portable stereo system in this episode. Evidently, she needs to work harder to excise the term–oft-spoken in her childhood–from her lexicon. Let’s all consider this a learning opportunity.
LINKS
Jenny’s all-time favourite teen film: Saved! [IMDb]
gabriellaabelle’s “Women, Connecting” [LiveJournal]
Donald Glover’s blog [iamdonald.com]
So I know we just came back but we’re taking another week off, because you know what, we’re masters (mistresses?) of our own lives and we can do that if we want to. And we know you’ll miss us but we now have 14 (twelve plus two bonus) episodes for your enjoyment, so we encourage you to peruse our backcatalogue.
Really, we’re sorry we can’t provide you with a new dose of Icy Fat (ew?) this week, but let me try make it up to you. My friend and best DJ Mama Cutsworth has remixed the Golden Girls theme song. You can listen, download and enjoy via SoundCloud:
Golden Girlz (Mama Cutsworth Remix) by Mama Cutsworth
And, if you happen to be in Winnipeg tomorrow night, you can join us down at the Park Theatre (698 Osborne St.) for a special screening and dance party commemorating the 25th anniversary of the airing of the pilot episode of The Golden Girls. Doors at 7:15, screening at 8 sharp, bingo and dance party to follow. Eight bucks gets you in the door.
Discussed:
-What we’ve been up to (which is being sick)
-Cynara’s steampunk-inspired solution for not being shunned on the SkyTrain
-Bringing back “bagism” (or, you know, not).
NOTE: At first Derek didn’t know we were recording, so he for awhile he does what he normally does when he’s in the room and Jenny and Cynara are talking on the phone/Skype/Gchat — joins in on the conversation with periodic interjections.
-The politics of winterwear in Winnipeg
-I don’t know if you’ve heard, but It’s a bad time to make mining jokes
-Cynara shares what she’s been doing at work — marketing a really cool book
-SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD time.
-Cynara has developed some high standards for portrayals of women in film.
-For instance, her present enjoyment of the Back to the Future series is mitigated by the way women are characterized and used, plotwise.
-Towards a Bechdel Test for fat: we need a rating system for body positivity (or lack thereof, natch) in film.
-Anyway, what is with the girls in Scott Pilgrim?
-(White) hipster liberalism & how it plays out vis a vis Antoine Dodson.
Links:
“BED INTRUDER SONG!!!” [YouTube]
On Feminism, Liberals, Black Folks and Antoine Dodson [Like a Whisper]
A Room in the City [Anvil Press]
Note: We’re not linking directly to the Cracked roundtable on Back to the Future because we don’t want to vouch for it completely. But you know how to use the internet to find it if you want.
We’re both under the weather, so we’re taking a brief hiatus to regenerate. We’ll return shortly with your regularly scheduled thought-provoking pop culture analysis and recommended dose of fatty bring-down.
In the meantime, I submit to you that Christina Hendricks in spectacles is nothing short of spectacular:
A bespectacled Hendricks presents at the Creative Arts Emmys on Aug 21st with Mad Men creator Matt Weiner
TOP: Angelina Jolie in Salt BOTTOM: Screenshot from "Hey Baby"
Discussed:
-Cynara reviews Angelina Jolie’s new movie, Salt
-How this movie was originally meant for Tom Cruise
-How this movie is super violent!-Street harassment, and some technological interventions thereof
-Hollaback — a soon-to-be iPhone app that gives women and LGBT folks power in the face of street harassment
-A videogame by Suyin Looui that’s provoking a lot of discussion on the subject of street harassment
Links:
Salt: Anything You Can Do I Can Do Equal [Women & Hollywood]
Hollaback NYC [Blogspot]
Schrodinger’s Rapist [Shapely Prose]
Hey Baby Game – It’s Payback Time, Boys… [Heybabygame.com]
End Music:
“Brand New Colony” by the Postal Service.
