"You know, emperor penguins spend their whole lives looking for that one other penguin and when they meet them, they know. And they spend the rest of their lives together."
"Can you for one second believe that maybe I'm not some full-of-shit guy, that maybe I do like you, that maybe the other night was special?"
"Steve, maybe I can believe it!"
Showing posts with label new york magazine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new york magazine. Show all posts
Madison Avenue is scrambling to adjust to a new era, when the most admired people in America are a black family. To reflect this reality, talent scouts are on the hunt for models who look like the Obama children, Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10.
"People are looking for girls who resemble them," says Charlie Winfield, the head booker at FunnyFace Today.
Tali Lev, an agent with the Gilla Roos agency, keeps links to her "Sasha" and "Malia" model lists on her desktop for easy access. "Photographers even want them for their portfolios."
Marlene Wallach, president of Wilhelmina Kids & Teens, says the First Daughters are tough subjects to match. "It’s a very specific age and a very specific ethnicity, so there aren’t that many girls that would necessarily fit the bill."
A very specific ethnicity? These girls are not Jessica Alba or Rosario Dawson or DwayneJohnson or Vin Diesel. They are 3/4 black, like most black people in the United States are, if you look far back enough and count up all the pieces.
How hard is it to find tiny black children in New York City? Maybe Ms. Wallach could import them direct from the manufacturer.
"What if there was this gay serial rapist who accidentally fell in like with his best friend's girlfriend, who was kind of his best actual friend, because they were kind of rapists together, and they got together in the seamiest, creepiest way...but you were cheering them on the whole time, and kind of got teary when they sealed the deal, even though it was presented in weird '90s Nine Inch Nails jumpcuts played against weird '00s emo-punk-rock crap? Like their creepiness cancels each other out and it's kind of...sweet? Like, 'Way to lose your virginity to the gay best friend of your shitty boyfriend'?"
• Okay, so Vanessa sneaks in while Dan and Serena are making out, which brings to bear the question we've been wondering since she first stepped foot through his window. What if he were masturbating?? This is high school, not Clarissa Explains It All; you can't just sneak through a boy's window without warning if you don't want to see some frighteningly awkward hunching maneuvers and a flash of low-grade Internet porn. Minus 5.
• Aha! Only a few minutes later, Vanessa comes in and Dan is looking at porn. Except he's still not masturbating. Not to be vulgar, but in what world would that happen? Minus 5, for willfully and repeatedly ignoring the libido level of a high-school boy. These creatures will hump APPLE PIES, people.
Josh, if you're reading (fingers crossed!), did you write this third one? Because I don't know many bloggers who can work in an effective Clarissa Explains It All reference.
#
My thoughts on this week's 30 Rock:
"A whale is trouble! I have to go." Love love love Al Gore.
"What do you do with the Pop-Tart?!" Ewww. Poor Liz Lemon.
Also, Mr. Pancholy, please get more press so I can link to you in a Joseph Gordon-Levitt manner. You are so funny and talented. You're like a primetime broadcast version of Lloyd.
I didn't realize until right now that David Schwimmer wasn't playing himself. He was playing a previously out of work actor named "Jared." Right.
#
I haven't finished watching The Office yet, but my initial thoughts include these: Jim, everyone likes to have their own special day on their birthday. I know I do. (Winky-wink.) Kate from Jon & Kate + 8 acknowledges this, and she has eight kids who share two birthdays. You only have thirteen employees for an entire year. Plus, party planning is Angela's entire reason for being. Let everyone have their own day and their own cake.
"It's rare that we find anyone that we want to be a part of Frangela - but reading Steve the Penguin was like talking to our other girlfriend. Mahlena-Rae is that voice inside all of our heads - wishing for more, wanting more - sometimes scared and sometimes crazy. Mahlena-Rae Johnson has done what few authors have been able to do; she has created an experience, a journey that feels familiar and real and yet, takes you places you don't ever expect. We loved it!"
- Frances Callier and Angela V Shelton aka Frangela
* * *
"If you want to see how Bianca Reagan deals with maintaining a fast-paced life of an Angeleno, catching up with old friends, and exploring feelings for an old crush all within a week, then pick up this book and read it!"
"...what woman doesn’t want to find her Steve the Penguin? The Steve to their Miranda?...That guy who will keep that egg warm while us girls are out looking for food...
If you want to read a fun book with that is filled with wit and humor then you must check out Steve the Penguin."
"First-time author Mahlena-Rae Johnson weaves the story of a 20-something-year-old television junkie turned Hollywood executive assistant preparing for her trip back to her childhood home of St. Thomas for a high-school reunion."
"If you like fun, funny romantic comedies, then trip attractively over to your local quirky independent bookstore in your funky scarf - and while not noticing the diamond-in-the-rough, nerdy cashier who really likes you - flirt with the unavailable, self-absorbed zine-writer shoplifting organic chocolates by the cash register- and BUY THIS BOOK!" - Maria Bamford, Comedian of Comedy
* * *
"'Steve the Penguin' is the literary companion to ABC’s Ugly Betty."
"In her debut novel Steve the Penguin, Mahlena-Rae Johnson doesn't reinvent the formula but rather creates an original heroine within the Single Gal genre...
Mahlena-Rae Johnson is an original, new voice in the genre..."
"Mahlena captures the stress and self-doubt I think most of us feel at the prospect of facing people we haven't seen in years, and thereby facing a version of ourselves we haven't seen in years . . .
. . . I highly recommend checking out Mahlena's book -- and Bianca's blog, which is full of musings about all things political and cultural -- some serious, some irreverent, and some completely hilarious."
"Steve the Penguin is definitely a witty, charming, must-read. I recommend this book to anyone out there searching for Mr. or Mrs. Right, or anyone who has enjoyed The Devil Wears Prada, Sex in the City reruns, Girlfriends, pop culture or 'pop politics' in general, and anyone out there who has ever 'dreaded their high school reunion.' "
"Steve the Penguin opens the door to the mysterious lives of Young Single Adults--those of us who didn't get married and have children back when all of our friends and siblings did--and now have to face their pitying/condescending stares as we return to our ten-year high school reunions without a date . . .
Steve the Penguin is fun at the same time that it brings the reader's attention to social and societal issues and attitudes. While you think you're getting some light reading in, you actually get a bit of heavy thinking done as well."
"Johnson is in her element when she tackles the issues facing young women-- friendships, body image, men and the nerve-wracking hell that is high school reunion time. This book's greatest strength is its well-written characters and relationships, in particular female friendships . . .
If you’re a fan of fast-paced, witty dialogue ala Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then Mahlena-Rae Johnson’s style is up your alley. Pop culture references pepper the pages and inject an even more ‘real’ edge to Bianca’s world . . ."