The Cosmopolitan Blog

I always suspected that Anderson Cooper had a really dry sense of humor, but on his AC360 program on CNN, you only ever get to catch a glimmer of it. Which is fine, since his show is serious, tackles world issues, and offers informative and interesting viewpoints.

But if you were wondering who Anderson Cooper really is, here’s an eye opener. He’s co-hosting Live with Regis and Kelly, and he’s talking about the show called “Living Lohan”, a show about Lindsay Lohan’s family (mainly her mom and her sister). It uses Lindsay’s name, but Lindsay never actually appears on the show. According to Cooper, the show “is just atrocious”.

Anyway, this is hilarious, i was cracking up, from beginning to end. Anderson Cooper’s laughter is infectious. I think i may have a crush on him now

You know how, when you think of The Beatles or Elvis Presley, any image you have of them in your head, they’re always accompanied by shots of their hysterical screaming fans? These girls that are crying, and fainting, and screaming, and hugging, and dropping like flies at the sight of their idol? ok, well, that’s fine, i mean, it’s the Beatles, i guess they were hot for their time, and it’s Elvis, you know, he had… um… the hips :-S

So, I guess the fans remain the same for modern day stars, like Justin Timberlake or Tom Cruise. But you could imagine how women might get excited to even see someone like Oprah, right? It’s just, well, cuz she’s a woman, there’s not the sex appeal part that woman see in Elvis or Justin, and yet, i’ve seen The Oprah Show, and they do get excited as well, not quite to that extend, but when she enters the room, they jump up, scream a bit, wave, jump up and down and clap joyfully.

But here’s something i just DON’T get, maybe someone can explain this to me. So the audience of The Oprah Show get “kinda” excited when they see Oprah arrive, but when she stands up and says “today is Oprah’s favorite things day”, something happens that i don’t even think happened when John Lennon walked on stage. Oprah says those 6 words, and it’s INSTANT mass-hysteria, and i mean mass-hysteria like it’s not even conceivable. And it lasts for like 5 minutes. The women jump up from their chairs, and they YELL these shrills that should be illegal. Then, they start crying, hyper-ventilating, hugging the total stranger standing next to them, some of them in shock, some gesturing like they’re about to throw up from the excitement, some of them throwing their arms up in the air and thanking God, and they’re crying, and crying… It’s like some supreme being just came down from the Heavens and promised to take away all their pains, stop all wars and remove world hunger. Cuz honestly, a reaction like that should NOT be caused by something so materialistic, it seems wrong, somehow.

I honestly don’t get it. I love Oprah, you know that. But this? I REALLY don’t get it. Why? I mean i get it, she’s gonna tell you everything she loves right now, and then give one of each thing to each audience member, so, by the end of the afternoon, each person has walked away with about $2K worth of gifts. That’s awesome, great, congrats, i’m happy for you. But why hyper-ventilate? Why faint?

I swear, Oprah and to stand there for 5 minutes, saying “Calm down, relax, ssshh, it’s ok” and she has this look of bewilderment, and it took the women 5 minutes to calm down.

This has got to be acting right? I mean, seriously? Ok, the gifts were cool, the main ones were: a stove-top range cooker thing worth $800, a GPS system, a $200 gift card for any Courtyard Marriott (um, hello, can i just point out that a Courtyard Marriott is NOT a super luxurious hotel, it’s just like your average Holiday Inn?). Other gifts include a range of makeup, some clothes and swimsuits, a CD and a weekender bag. Then her friend Gail introduced this blush brush (yes, yes, a makeup brush) that’s valued at $75 and told them they were each getting one, and the mass-hysterial begun again: they were up on their feet screaming and clapping.

Ok, maybe it’s just the fact that these women know they’re now using all the products Oprah uses. Because, I mean, you can go on game shows and win way more, right? So it can’t purely be the money value. The worst part is that i fear that this is just companies sponsoring this show and telling Oprah what to showcase, i don’t even think she necessarily uses all this stuff, does she? Sorry, try as I may, I really still don’t get it. If you’re gonna thank the Lord for something, please! Don’t let it be for a makeup brush!

But maybe i’m totally missing something. I try to be as open as possible with anything i come across in my life, and i want to understand this. Can someone share some insight? Please post a comment.

As you know, i’m a strong supporter of Oprah. I think she’s a smart, independent woman who has risen from a very difficult start, to a very influential person in today’s world. Am i proud of her because she’s a woman? Sure, woman are very “patriotic” that way, we stand together because many, many women in our history have fought real hard to give us the standing we can enjoy in most of the Western world today. Seeing the situation of women in the Middle East and Africa makes this fact even more obvious. BUT, at the same time, i would respect anyone with a story like Oprah’s, somehow who started from an unprivileged background to become one of the most successful people in their field.

So why does everyone always come down so hard on Oprah? I’m sure she doesn’t need me defending her, but seriously, do we really enjoy criticizing people who do well? You ask some people, and all they know of Oprah is some chat show host you went through her whole life having weight issues. NEWSFLASH! We haven’t discussed Oprah’s weight issues for years now, instead, her politics, her thoughts, her books, her charities, her movies… all of these things have been a lot more in the forefront than her weight issues in the 90s. So don’t give me the “well that’s all people talk about”, no they don’t! It’s what you choose to remember.

Now, the poor woman makes a choice and stands by a political candidate, and she gets grief for too?For one, if she didn’t make a choice, she would be criticized for not having the guts to take a stand. So, in case some of you hadn’t noticed, Oprah is a black woman. Turns out, 1 democratic candidate is a woman, the other is black. So how illogical is it for women across the country to criticize her for supporting Barack Obama and being unfaithful to women? Um, hello? So if she supported Hillary, we’d criticize her for supporting a white candidate??? So, let me get this right. She doesn’t express her opinion, she gets shot down. She DOES express her opinion, she gets shot down… man, sux to be a prominent figurehead.

For one, i think she is an amazing role model. She teaches us not to follow her blindly, instead, she gives us the tools to empower yourselves, as women, as citizens of the world, as human beings. If you could put aside your sarcasm and opinionated mindset, you might find that you can relate to a few things that Oprah has to say. Don’t vote for Barack Obama because Oprah supports him. Don’t vote for Hillary because she’s a woman like you. For Pete’s sake, women voters! Do what you do best. Combine your logic and your intuition and LISTEN to both messages. Then find which one rings truer to your situation and your heart. Judge them not for their gender or the color of their skin, we’ve evolved, we’re smart human beings, we are better judges of character than that… and stop judging Oprah for her choices and weight issues.

I’ll stop preaching now…

In my job in marketing, i have to study the web traffic to our site. I’m sure at CNN they have an entire team working on analysis viewership rates… and i wonder if they’ll notice a drop in viewership today, seeing that the Lost season premiere is on. I mean, let’s face it, there’s been NOTHING on tv these days, no one sits at lunch at work the next day ooohing and aaahing over the latest developments of their favorite series… it’s very sad… well, for us… Cuz for politicians and networks like CNN, i’m thinking their viewership has never been higher, they’re by default, the best entertainment there is on TV, with political debates and all…

Hehehe… so, um, does that mean that there’s a spin doctor somewhere who orchestrated the writer’s strike so that everyone HAS to watch the politics? Hmmm…

The Lost Season 4 premiere is on TV tonight, and so, i’ve spent some time watching recaps online (no, not spoilers, recaps)! It’s interesting what you realize when you watch a summarized version of the show. For example, on youtube, there’s an 8-minute video that summarizes Seasons 1-3, it’s awesome for someone who has actually seen the show to remind you of certain events.

One thing that transpires is the dedication with which Ben has been trying, all this time to block the signal to the island. The 1st time the signal was released was during the crazy event when the hatch blew up after Desmond chose not to turn the key. So, for a few minutes, the island was visible to the outside world, and that’s why Season 2 ended with us seeing those scientists/researchers up North somewhere, and their board lights up pinpointing the location of the island.

The ext time is when Charlie releases the signal just before dying, and so now, it is possible for them to use Neomi’s phone. And when Ben sees that, he becomes terrified, like we’ve never seen him before. Let’s not forget, Ben was a child when his dad was working for the Dharma initiative, and somehow, i think, something he saw there made him want to eliminate everyone from the Dharma initiative (and they all ended up in that mass grave in which he threw Locke).

Seeing Ben by the tower, litterally begging Jack not to make that call, telling him that The Others are actually the good people (although, um, that was pushing it, we do remember what they did to the Losties, don’t we?). But think about it. Locke suddenly sees Walt standing over him in the grave, and Walt obviously lets him in on something really important, telling him there’s work to do, and hours later, he’s hunted his group down and is threatening them if they make that call.

And now we also see that, in the future, Jack is obviously regretting his decision to leave the island, and even left me with the impression that maybe not everyone got off? Confused. Anyway, my thoughts are that Ben is in the casket, and he died, and now Jack realizes that Ben was right all along and he should ahve listened to him. When the funeral director asked him “friend or family” and he said “Neither”, it can only mean that it was someone that he hated (otherwise, why else would he be so upset), but that someone, he felt compelled to go visit, someone who was maybe not liked by many people (no one showed up), someone who maybe doesn’t have any family (again, no one showing up)… um, hello? Can you say BEN?

anway, your thoughts on who is in the casket please. VOTE NOW on the poll on the right hand side of this blog.as

Well Lost is back tomorrow, finally, and seeing that everything else on tv is not even worth the effort of hitting the ON button on your remote control, i have really high hopes for this return. If for some reason, you haven’t started watching lost, or, like a few people i know, you’re one season behind because you’d rather watch the full season on DVD, well, then… tough luck… i’m gonna be discussing what’s going on, so if you don’t want to know, STOP READING NOW!

ok, well, i’d love to hear from you. What’s going on? Why is Jack so upset that they left the island? How quickly did you get that this was a flash forward and not a flashback? Who is in the coffin? Who is Neomi and who does she work for? Who did they get rescued by? Who is Jacob? What convinced Locke not to leave the island? Were you sad to see Charlie die? Where is Walt, how did he suddenly appear to Locke? And for the love of all that’s unholy, what is Ben’s problem??? He’s soooo creepy, with his little beady eyes…

I have to say, this story is reeeeally complicated, and i’m actually thankful for the refresher we saw today. Actually, i’m gonna put a poll up for Lost viewers… i want your opinions on who you think is in the coffin. If none of the options you want are in the poll, feel free to reply to this post.

Well, that’s it, i’m just excited and can’t wait for tomorrow, only thing is, i might just record it, because if it’s anything like today, there was a commercial break every 7 minutes!!! Cheers ABC! Can’t you just pay your writers and give them what they want, so that we can get quality tv back and you don’t feel you have to triple on the advertising you feed us?

This is really not helping the general US ego. They already think that the world revolves around them, and now, what sucks is that the world does actually revolve around the US. The way they talk about the elections (ok, granted, i’m in Canada, it’s hardly very far away) on TV, you’d think it was everyone’s elections. I haven’t met someone who doesn’t know about Hillary and Barack. The republican race may be less known across the planet however, since the candidates haven’t yet been raised to celebrity status. Speaking of celebrities, i just heard that Fred Thompson (actor from Law and Order, that’s how i know him, anyway), just announced that he was dropping out of the race.

Last time around (2004), it was already bad enough, everywhere we looked there was a debate between Kerry and Bush, but at least, i feel like we were spared the primaries. And sure, in 2000, well, we all know that Bush rigged the votes and Al Gore should have been president, so, again, that had our attention.

But the primaries? Really? Seriously? We have to get involved this early in the process? It’s not, you realize, until this time next year, that the next president is sworn in… I heard on CNN that, during the New Hampshire primary, one of the voters expressed the fact that he wouldn’t vote, because he’s already so over it, and it’s overkill, he doesn’t want to go out and vote, so a bit of a backlash there.

I supposed the good news is, the more we spend time talking about the future president, the less W. is getting facetime… Which might explain why he hasn’t been feeling the love recently, and decided to give every US citizen and $800 tax rebate in the form of a check in their mailbox… Can someone say blackmail? Hey, W! You got a reputation and historical legacy you’re trying to salvage?

The thing is, like it or not, you gotta care. Like it or not, the news of possible US recession just sent the markets reeling this past week. The few shares I follow have hit rock bottom, and one’s not even in the US and is in one of the most stable industries you can get!

So, then, I ask you this. The question that’s on everyone’s lips: are Americans more racist or sexist? Are they more ready to vote for a woman or a Black man? Shame Oprah didn’t join the race, but seeing she’s Black AND she’s a woman, I think THAT, somehow is still a decade away (in my estimate) from being acceptable in such a bigotted, conservative and puritan country.

Personally, i think they’re more ready for a woman, although Barack has my Canadian vote. But here’s the truth. I honestly don’t think they’re ready for either. That is, they WILL pick either the woman or the black man, and that person will be the party’s nominee. But when it comes down to voting for the leader of the free world, my opinion is, come November 08, the Americans will chicken out, and decide not to vote for the Democrat candidate, they won’t want the woman or the Black man, and, therefore, by default, the votes will go to the Republican nominee.

So here it is: I predict that the next president of the United States will be a Republican again.

Anyway, whether you’re glued to your TV set or whether you wish the US would disappear off the face of the planet for a while, let me know what you think. There’s a new poll up (see right hand side), i hope you vote, you can select up to 5 answers.

This is very sad, seeing a young life disappear before it gets a chance to fully grow. There was such promise in Heath Ledger’s career, you could tell this was an actor that would only get better as the years went by. I appreciate that he tried really hard to stay away from the typical teenage roles once he had gotten his foot in the door with “10 Things i Hate About You”.

He took risks and did really good in “Brokeback Mountain”, i found his performance really compelling, especially for a then-26-year-old. And just recently, he completed 2 movies i was really looking forward to seeing: one about Bob Dylan, and one where he plays The Joker. From what i understand on the stories of his death so far, it could be due to the lack of sleep over the past month caused by the stress of getting in the skin of his character as The Joker… that’s dedication pushed to the limit…

He leaves behind a little 2-year old girl (her mother is Michelle Williams who played in Brokeback Mountain, but who you might remember from her tragic role in Dawson’s Creek)… He was 28.

Anyway, this is very sad, very sad indeed.