Movie Poster of the Week

Oh, no! I have heard of hair turning white overnight due to a great fright but this is the first instance I have encountered in which hair turns blonde due to a similar cause. Just think of all the money women can save on peroxide if this happened more often.

On a more serious note, I would think that deliberately dying Ms. Velez's hair blonde on the movie poster in order to appeal to the type of people who do not care for brunettes is more than a bit foolish. Not only is such an act the aesthetic equivalent of drawing a mustache on the Mona Lisa, but it seems silly to pretend that the type of people fooled by such a poster are not likely to demand a refund once they discover Ms. Velez's true hair color. And what's wrong with naturally black hair, anyway?

¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Deborah Harry!

Born July 1, 1945.

My favorite suicide blonde has a birthday today. I hope for her sakes that it is a good one.

Pop Song of the Week: “Shakin'”

Who says gentlemen prefer blondes?

That's Funny. She Doesn't Look Latina: Parte XXI

Cameron Diaz (1972 - ). The daughter of a Cuban-American father and a mother of English, German and Cherokee descent. A former model who made her movie acting debut in 1994's The Mask and who has been active in movies ever since.

That's Funny. She Doesn't Look Latina: Parte XX

Joanna Leanna García (1979 - ). Daughter of a Spanish-American homemaker and a Cuban-born gynecologist. Best known for a starring role in the CW sitcom Reba and a recurring role in the TV show Freaks and Geeks, she is currently appearing in the TV show Better with You.

That's Funny. She Doesn't Look Latina: Parte X

Yvette Carmen Mimieux (1942- ). Daughter of a French father and a Mexican mother. She is best known for her role in 1960's The Time Machine, in which she played an Eloi. Admittedly I find it quite ironic that such a role was played by a person of Mexican descent since I had no idea that was so when I wrote this.

That's Funny. She Doesn't Look Latina: Parte I


The late Anita Page (1910 - 2008), a blue-eyed blonde who is most famous today for starring in the Oscar-winning movie The Broadway Melody. Her birth name was Anita Evelyn Pomares and her father's family came from El Salvador. Back in 1929, she received more fan letters than anyone save Greta Garbo.

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Heroes: “An Invisible Thread”

I was going to post something about every Heroes episode that aired this season, but I kinda lost interest after the season finale and it's not like the episodes were inspiring my best thoughts anyway.

I wish I could say that the third season of this series was an improvement over the second, but no, not really. If anything, it seemed even more disappointing than the last season because neither the writers nor the characters seem to have learned anything. And the entire show seemed to have lost direction altogether.

Moreover, the writers appeared to have lost interest in any character on the show who is not Sylar or Noah Bennett. Even Claire Bennett -- whom I had thought to be a popular character -- is not getting all that much decent dialogue and don't get me started on the increasingly tiresome Petrelli brothers, Peter and Nathan.

While I had liked to think that former writer Bryan Fuller's return to the show was going to improve things, all it really appeared to have changed was to produce yet more emphasis on everyone's favorite supervillain Sylar. Indeed, even when the show has an inspired idea, it appears to refute said idea by the next episode. Has Sylar reformed? No, he didn't. Does Angela Petrelli tell all? No, she doesn't. Does Hiro get his powers back? No, not quite.

And most insulting of all, so-and-so is killed. But wait, another character -- who just happens to have shape-shifting powers -- is being hypnotized to take his place. Never mind that such a twist doesn't make any sense to anyone who's not a staff writer desperate to prevent the loss of a single cast member. (And, btw, just where were these staff writers when they killed off one of my favorite supporting characters earlier this season?) That's what the writers decided and that's what we're going to get.

I would be so surprised if this show had much of an audience next season. And, sorry, trying to bribe me with the image of a naked blonde at the end of this episode is not going to make me change my mind about this show, guys.

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Heroes: “Eris Quod Sum”

Should I consider it evil of me that the first thought that came to mine when I saw this episode's title was the old Xena character Discord -- whose name in Greek is, of course, Eris?

And what the hell happened to Janice, the original spouse of everyone's favorite telepathic ex-cop, Matt Parkman? Is she not going to appear on the show anymore or did the producers decide that blonde supersprinter Daphne is more photogenic?

And speaking of Parkman, anyone else get the feeling that “Didn't I throw you out a window” is going to become a running gag for this show? Apparently it's now The Defenestration Show. Tune in next week to see who else gets thrown out a window...

And anyone else wonder if the producers have a same-sex subplot in mind for Claire the ex-cheerleader and Elle the electric girl? Of course, it could just be wishful thinking on my part but stranger things have happened. However, I doubt they're going to go in that direction.

However, it does seem like someone on the production staff has a thing for blondes almost as serious as Nathan Petrelli's. And incidentally, his wife appears to be seriously AWOL as well. (Maybe she's sharing a timeshare with Janice Parkman.)

And given that Matt Parkman has already proven capable of involuntarily reading someone's thoughts (look what happened with his wife in the show's first season), the decision to have Daphne pretend to go along with Matt at Arthur Petrelli's request seems really, really stupid.

Anyway, the most shocking thing I found about this episode was the Viagra ads that were being shown during the show on the NBC site. Apparently they're trying to vanquish whatever family audience that still remains after first season's stripper mom subplot. Good thing we live in such a Puritanical society...

Song Quote of the Week

I'm through with stocks and bonds,
I'd rather spend it all on blondes...
--Sam M. Lewis, “If I Ever Get a Job Again”

Movie Song of the Week: “'Cause I'm a Blonde”

It's summertime and it's the time for beach songs and novelty tunes.

Fortunately, this number sung by Julie Brown in the 1988 movie Earth Girls Are Easy qualifies on both counts.

I hope you enjoy it -- even if you are a blonde like my sister. (And no, I'm not posting this to get back at her or any other blonde in my life. Seriously, I'm not.)

Dueling Images

Of course, these images have a lot more in common than one might think. Though I think it's safe to say that the first one is NOT French. And, contrary to what many Northern Europeans appear to believe, I doubt she was a real-life blonde either.