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New York, 11:43 AM
Fri Dec 4
55 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of TheologicalSong TheologicalSong
    11:38 AM

    In reply to Why Celebrity Op-Eds Suck
    that's all well and good, but how does "aging midget who wears sunglasses indoors" buttress your point, exactly, Ravi? an example of responsible, incisive journalism, apparently. if you must insist on cheap shots, a modicum of elegance might be useful.
     Reply
    TheologicalSong was starred TheologicalSong was unstarred
    Image of Tweezergal Tweezergal
    11:32 AM

    In reply to Why Celebrity Op-Eds Suck
    But even worse than your-average-run-in-the-mill celebrity "authors" are business-people, anchors, and politicians who hire academics, reporters, or independent intellectuals to ghostwrite their articles: I can think of a few esteemed bigwigs who've "published" pieces in the rarified New York Review of Books-- only they haven't really written them. And do you think Tom Brokaw penned any of "his" books?
     Reply
    Edited by Tweezergal at 12/04/09 11:41 AM Tweezergal was starred Tweezergal was unstarred
    Image of AzureTexan AzureTexan
    11:17 AM

    In reply to Why Celebrity Op-Eds Suck
    "I'm confused. Suzanne Somers is famous, and SHE'S a good writer."

    — Kim Kardashian, in Sunday's London Times
     Reply
    AzureTexan was starred AzureTexan was unstarred
    Image of Banjo-Sea Kitten Banjo-Sea Kitten
    11:01 AM

    In reply to Why Celebrity Op-Eds Suck
    What's been worse is the speaking Sean Penn--on Larry King especially. He cannot form an articulate sentence to save his life. At least Sarah Palin is just ignorant and aims for soundbite folksy; Penn on the other hand is certainly not as ignorant, and his heart has been in the right place at times, but he aims for deep and brilliant and misses those marks every time.
     Reply
    Banjo-Sea Kitten was starred Banjo-Sea Kitten was unstarred
    Image of Tweezergal Tweezergal
    10:59 AM

    In reply to Why Celebrity Op-Eds Suck
    Hooray Ravi Somaiya, for exposing what everyone knows but few want to admit, that "celebrity writer" is an oxymoron. The fact is, even edited pieces by celebrities are garbage, because rewrite people have a hard time turning their illiterate ramblings into anything substantial. What their original pieces look like when they first land on an editor's desk would be embarrassing for a ten-year-old -- that is, if they weren't already reshaped by the celebrity's personal assistant. Bono in The Times?! What a joke! I'm still laughing over Warren Beatty's op-ed piece years back. Fame seekers, who are much too interested in being stared at, are not prepared for the hard, solitary work and thought that good and intelligent writing requires.
     Reply
    Edited by Tweezergal at 12/04/09 11:07 AM Tweezergal was starred Tweezergal was unstarred
    Image of johnny_carsick johnny_carsick
    10:22 AM

    In reply to Ashley Dupre Cannot Stop Talking to Tabloids About Prostitution
    More lift, less separation.

    And enough with the Myspace-style shots, lady. Urryone knows that shit is ovah.
     Reply
    johnny_carsick was starred johnny_carsick was unstarred
    Image of Tammany_Fall Tammany_Fall
    10:01 AM

    In reply to Ashley Dupre Cannot Stop Talking to Tabloids About Prostitution
    That hairline hurts me from here.
     Reply
    Tammany_Fall was starred Tammany_Fall was unstarred
    Image of resipsaloquacious resipsaloquacious
    09:59 AM

    In reply to Ashley Dupre Cannot Stop Talking to Tabloids About Prostitution
    "And I was the hooker?"

    Well, I sure hope you were not banging Gov. Gold Toe for free?
     Reply
    resipsaloquacious was starred resipsaloquacious was unstarred
    Image of Brad Brown Brad Brown
    09:57 AM

    In reply to Ashley Dupre Cannot Stop Talking to Tabloids About Prostitution
    Please photoshop some bangs and shoulder-length hair. I never realized how mannish she was until seeing that photo. Beauty may be just a light switch away, but I'm going to need a bigger dimmer switch.
     Reply
    Brad Brown was starred Brad Brown was unstarred
    Image of freedc freedc
    10:25 AM

    @Brad Brown: Don't be snarky, she's pretty. But for real, she could fix her brows a bit. She needs to stop drawing in/growing her eyebrows so far on her nose.
     Reply
    freedc was starred freedc was unstarred
    Image of If_I_Had_a_Poodle If_I_Had_a_Poodle
    09:11 AM

    In reply to Why Celebrity Op-Eds Suck
    Are you suggesting that writing is a craft and a skill that requires effort and practice? This is an interesting topic. I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
     Reply
    If_I_Had_a_Poodle was starred If_I_Had_a_Poodle was unstarred
    Image of MrInBetween MrInBetween
    08:59 AM

    In reply to Why Celebrity Op-Eds Suck
    Sean Penn is emultating Hemingway. Try again, nitwit.
     Reply
    MrInBetween was starred MrInBetween was unstarred
    Image of Arken Arken
    09:09 AM

    @MrInBetween: By metaphorically shooting himself in the face?
     Reply
    PaisleyPajamas promoted this comment Arken was starred Arken was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    08:41 AM

    In reply to Why Celebrity Op-Eds Suck
    what happened to:

    *celebrities are dumb
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of marin79 marin79
    09:02 AM

    @Pope John Peeps II: Ha! Though, I actually think Franco is intelligent (esp relative to the rest of the bunch). Just takes himself far too seriously with that article & perhaps, as Ravi notes, suffered from bad editing.
     Reply
    marin79 was starred marin79 was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    09:17 AM

    @marin79: Franco is simply NOT stupid. He's a person of regular intelligence. Which in celebrity parlance means he's a genius unparalleled in human history. But by no means should he start to think he's particularly smart. His writing is also horribly, horribly undergrad-ish.

    I think it's more honest without an editor. I think an editor would have balked at editing this, knowing that if this person is going to play on his celebrity to get an article out there, the only way to even that out karmically is to let his writing speak for him, and show the world what he's about. Writing speaks loudly.
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of Mike Jahn Mike Jahn
    09:21 AM

    @Pope John Peeps II: More to the point recently, what happened to "cocktail waitresses are dumb?"
     Reply
    Mike Jahn was starred Mike Jahn was unstarred
    Image of PaisleyPajamas PaisleyPajamas
    09:28 AM

    @Pope John Peeps II: Yes, you make an excellent point--let them show their asses via their diatribes de célébrité in all their fascinating shortcomings. It just boosts the work--the hard work--of true journalistic experts up a notch.
     Reply
    PaisleyPajamas was starred PaisleyPajamas was unstarred
    Image of braak: You are, as usual, completely correct. braak: You are, as usual, completely correct.
    09:34 AM

    @PaisleyPajamas: Oh, if only there were more than just a handful of Gawker commenters who could tell the difference between "good journalism" and "celebrity wankerage."
     Reply
    braak: You are, as usual, completely correct. was starred braak: You are, as usual, completely correct. was unstarred
    Image of marin79 marin79
    09:35 AM

    @Pope John Peeps II: I never implied that he was a genius. If you consider what "regular intelligence" actually is for this country, I'd say he's above average even though his writing is undergrad-ish. That doesn't mean that I believe he deserves to being doing op-eds in the WSJ, but let's not forget - they also employ PEGGY NOONAN! How high of a bar is it really?
     Reply
    Edited by marin79 at 12/04/09 9:37 AM marin79 was starred marin79 was unstarred
    Image of marin79 marin79
    09:41 AM

    @Pope John Peeps II: And if you want a good laugh - check out unedited Franco writing in the UCLA Literary Journal:

    [www2.humnet.ucla.edu]
     Reply
    marin79 was starred marin79 was unstarred
    Image of PaisleyPajamas PaisleyPajamas
    10:09 AM

    @marin79: Oh-my-freakin-gawd. I'm crying. I'm crying because James Franco is going to have a Master's from effing Columbia, and I never will.

    He gets extra goober points for his use of "hillock."
     Reply
    PaisleyPajamas was starred PaisleyPajamas was unstarred
    Image of jthh jthh
    11:16 AM

    @marin79: Really?? Really?? I wish I did not just spend 10 minutes of my life reading that.
     Reply
    marin79 promoted this comment jthh was starred jthh was unstarred
    Image of momof3wildkids momof3wildkids
    11:26 AM

    @PaisleyPajamas: Speaking of master's from Columbia.... have we heard any updates from the guy who is supposed to be blogging about it here lately? #mastersareawasteoftimeandmoney
     Reply
    Edited by momof3wildkids at 12/04/09 11:26 AM momof3wildkids was starred momof3wildkids was unstarred
    Image of Island of Misfit Toys Island of Misfit Toys
    12/03/09

    In reply to National Geographic Adventure Folds
    This is the first magazine death that upset me.
     Reply
    Island of Misfit Toys was starred Island of Misfit Toys was unstarred
    Image of Magister Magister
    12/03/09

    In reply to National Geographic Adventure Folds
    The wife and I were subscribing to NatGeo Adventure up until a couple of months ago. Sorry for any part, I may have played in its demise.

    PS) We still get the main mag and the Kids, so don't blame me if other units are having problems.
     Reply
    Edited by Magister at 12/03/09 2:42 PM Magister was starred Magister was unstarred
    Image of miss_msry miss_msry
    12/03/09

    In reply to National Geographic Adventure Folds
    Shiite, I subscribed just YESTERDAY to NatGeo Adventure as a Christmas present for my nephew. Now I have to get online and find something else just as cheap.

    Are the powers at Belo out of their minds?
     Reply
    Edited by miss_msry at 12/03/09 2:11 PM miss_msry was starred miss_msry was unstarred
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